Linda Fruits, 33, an influencer, recently told her followers that she and her girlfriend, Maddy Gross, 36, are having their first baby together, however, it’s not that simple. RELATED: Husband Tells His Wife He’s Seeing Someone Else & Asks Her To ‘Hang In There’ Until He Decides Between Them
Fruits is expecting a new baby with her girlfriend that will be fathered by her ex-husband.
Fruits, who describes her blended family as the “Fruity Bunch,” shared that her ex-husband, Christopher Haerting, 36, would be fathering her and Gross’ new baby. Haerting and Fruits divorced in August 2021 after Fruits had a “sexual awakening” and realized that she was lesbian. Despite the end of their marriage, Fruits and Haerting remain close, and even live together, for the sake of their two children, Elliot, 4, and Owen, 2. In November 2021, Fruits and Gross began dating, and it wasn’t long before Gross moved in with Fruits and Haerting, signifying the beginning of their blended family. “We told our sons that we will always be a family and that we will always love them, and that mama and papa were going to be raising them as best friends from now on,” Fruits said, according to the NY Post. In November 2022, Fruits announced to her followers on her blog “Fruits Of Motherhood” that she, Gross, and Haerting would be having a baby. RELATED: Drunk Groom Makes Out With A Man In Front Of Wife At Wedding Reception “On our second date, Maddy told me how she’s always wanted to be a mom and how she was actively trying to find a donor,” her blog post read. “We talked about how crazy it would be if Christopher was the donor and our kids could be related. We asked him five months later.” RELATED: Woman Dumped While Pregnant Says Her Ex Is Trying To Raise Her Baby With His New Girlfriend
At first, Fruit’s ex-husband was uncomfortable with the idea of impregnating his ex-wife’s new girlfriend.
At the beginning of 2022, both Fruits and Gross approached Haerting with the idea of him fathering their baby. “It was definitely not an instant yes,” Haerting admitted, according to the NY Post. “I had a lot of questions for each of them that I needed to be answered before I felt comfortable with it.” “My biggest non-negotiable was that I wasn’t comfortable being just a donor,” he explained. “I wanted to be the father/co-parent and legally on the birth certificate. Other than that, I wasn’t and am not worried about everything else. We will figure it out. I know that we will all do what’s best for our kids.” In Fruits’ blog post, she shared that after receiving her ex-husband’s approval, they decided to use the “DIY method” and bought an insemination kit to do at home. After five tries, Gross ended up with a positive pregnancy test, and Fruits revealed their new baby will arrive in May 2023. “Maybe, by sharing our story, we can change the outcome to be more positive for others," Fruits declared. “It doesn’t have to be the same old run-of-the-mill toxic separation because this doesn’t benefit anyone, especially the kids.” RELATED: Woman Reconnects With Daughter After Losing Custody But Doesn’t ‘Trust’ Her To Meet Her Younger Kids Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.
