A gay single dad spent $125k to have a baby by himself – after not wanting to wait for someone else to "fulfil" his "dream". <br /><br />Matt Bonnen, 31, had always dreamed of being a dad and when his relationship of four years broke down he didn’t think it would be possible.<br /><br />But after a cancer scare and losing his brother, Christopher, 31, in a drowning accident, Matt realised life was too short and he didn’t need to have a partner to become a parent.<br /><br />He started to look into agencies to help with surrogacy and picked out an egg donor who had similar physical features to himself.<br /><br />After one failed go, Matt found out his surrogate - a 30-year-old woman - was pregnant in February 2023 and he was able to attend to all the scans – in person or on FaceTime.<br /><br />Matt witnessed the birth of his son, Noah Christopher, now three months old, on October 14, 2023, and feels so “grateful” to have him.<br /><br />He doesn’t regret doing it alone – and says it is the “best decision” he has ever made.<br /><br />Matt, who owns a restoration company, and lives between Miami, Florida and New York, US, said: “All my life I had this idea of having a family.<br /><br />“I played with Barbie and made them have kids.<br /><br />“I always aspired to be a parent.<br /><br />“I thought 'why can’t I do this by myself?’<br /><br />“Why do you have to wait for someone else to fulfil your dream?<br /><br />“I want to invest in my happiness.<br /><br />“Noah was so wanted. I feel that is beautiful.<br /><br />“It’s the best decision I have made.”<br /><br />Matt had been planning a life with his ex-partner before their relationship broke down.<br /><br />He said: “I wasn’t happy with my life any more.<br /><br />“I broke it off.”<br /><br />He was unexpectedly diagnosed with astroblastoma - a rare brain tumour - in December 2018 but had an operation to have the mass removed the same month.<br /><br />Matt also lost his brother, who was 31 at the time, in a freak drowning accident and it made him start to realise he could be a dad on his own.<br /><br />He said: “Life is too short to be so unhappy.<br /><br />“Three years later when I was ready – I knew I wanted to be a parent.<br /><br />“I didn’t find another person but I thought ‘I think I can do this by myself’.”<br /><br />Matt was financially stable, had bought his own apartment and decided he wanted to have a biological child and started contacting agencies in 2021.<br /><br />He said: “I was missing that one thing.”<br /><br />Matt had six months of psychological testing to make sure he was “fit to be a parent” before dropping off his sperm.<br /><br />He then chose his egg donor – choosing someone who looked similar to him.<br /><br />Matt said: “It’s like a catalogue.<br /><br />“I felt most comfortable with how my family looks.”<br /><br />The agency then froze eight embryos and Matt picked a surrogate through the agency to carry his child.<br /><br />Matt said: “The first one didn’t take.<br /><br />“The second one she took a pregnancy test and said it was negative.<br /><br />“I was devastated.<br /><br />“She went to the doctors the next week and they said she was in fact pregnant.<br /><br />“I was crying.”<br /><br />Matt kept in touch with the surrogate throughout the pregnancy and was able to go to scans and see his son growing.<br /><br />He said: “It was amazing.”<br /><br />Matt saw Noah born naturally on October 14, 2023, in Miami, Florida at 1.30pm - weighing 6lbs 2oz.<br /><br />He said: “It was a beautiful experience.<br /><br />“As soon as he came out I saw myself in him.<br /><br />“He looked like an angel. He was soft and glowing.”<br /><br />Matt stayed in the hospital with Noah for two days before he came home – and has been looking after him ever since with the help of a nanny and his mum, Caroline, 55.<br /><br />He still keeps in touch with the surrogate – sending her photos and FaceTiming her.<br /><br />Matt said: “She gave me a gift that I could never have myself.<br /><br />“I’m so grateful for that.<br /><br />“She’ll always be a part of this.”<br /><br />Matt says he did struggle with fatherhood at first and found himself crying a lot.<br /><br />He said: “I believe men do get postpartum.<br /><br />“People said ‘you’ll regret having him’ or ‘you’ll miss your old life’.<br /><br />“But I am so grateful.<br /><br />“He’s very soft spoken and very smiley.<br /><br />“He has my eyes and my cheeks and the egg donor’s mouth and lips.<br /><br />“I’m obsessed.”<br /><br />Matt said a new partner would join their family – if he found the right person.<br /><br />He said: “Whether a partner comes into my life now or later they’ll join the family.<br /><br />“They’ll have to accept I am a father first.<br /><br />“They can be an add on to the family.”
