We’ve recently seen many wonderful, next-door-neighbor images of gay fathers and their children. Then there’s Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, from Essex, England. The couple already have five kids via egg donors and surrogates — 4 boys and a girl. But the millionaire dads want more more more! They have now spent over $100,000 to ensure their next child is a girl.
As reported in Britain’s Daily Mail, the couple flew to California to use IVF treatment to ensure the baby’s sex. (The treatment is not legal in Britain.) The couple used their sperm to fertilize three eggs, all of which are being carried by a surrogate mother. With the expensive and uncommon IVF treatment, the probability is high that one if not all of the triplets will be female.
Barrie and Tony already have two sets of twins, Aspen and Saffron, and Jasper and Dallas, plus a middle son, Orlando. In naming the new triplets, we suggest Liesl, Brigitta and Gretl.
These poppas love their wee ones, don’t you forget it. As Barrie told Britain’s Closer magazine:
How about we take this to the next level?
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“We can’t wait to spoil our new daughters. I want to buy them pink Prada dresses and babygros.
“We will recycle too. We are going to use Saffron’s old wicker crib from Harrods, which cost £5,000, and divide one of the £100,000 diamond necklaces she does not wear any more into individual pieces for the babies.
“And we want to decorate the nursery as a rainforest!”
…
“Saffron’s clothes come from every designer from Gucci and Karen Millen and she has 500 pairs of shoes.
“We spent £50,000 having her room designed like a swanky London flat with a 39-inch plasma TV and furniture from Harrods. The boys are not as bothered about clothes, but we get them the latest iPads and laptops.”
If this is how these queens talk about their own children, can you imagine the price dropping when you tour their home?
The couple first hit their beloved media spotlight in 1999, when they became Britain’s first legally recognized same-sex couple. When they had their first set of twins, Aspen and Saffron, both dad’s names we placed on their children’s birth certificates. Were they written with curly-Qs and hearts dotting the i’s?
Gay Parents: They can be as nutty as straight parents! Let’s check back in a few years and see if one of the new daughters is on Britain’s version of Toddlers and Tiaras.
[Image via]
Caleb
Talking about how much they spend is just plain common.
Sohobod
You see, not ALL naff people people are American! We, in Britain, have some too.
Henry Holland
They’re breeders, doesn’t matter if they’re gay. Over-population is a serious problem so thanks for doing your part!
Jose Rodriguez
Wow, these guys are tacky. You can be classless wherever you are from.
QJ201
Rich gay men love to collect things.
Anon
Are they for real or is that a hoax?
Jabaroo
Sounds like something from The Onion, sadly it’s not.
Delius
Sickening.
They should be happy with either sex.
Goes to show you that some gays and straights shout NOT be parents.
FelixWood
These guys are so gross.
RomanHans
Kind of makes me glad my parents were poor.
Adam
Whelp.
Their kids at least have nice names.
Pickles
Who cares?
As long as they love their children and raise them properly and the kids are happy and well-cared for, I don’t see why it matters.
Rich people have lots of stuff. That isn’t news.
There are plenty of people who have 5 kids and can’t afford to feed one.
I don’t see why it matters.
Unless you’re going to go into every wealthy home in the UK or the US and ask them how they sired their young and how much designer stuff they buy for their kids, it just seems like picking on them because they are gay and wealthy.
Pish!
Chris
You know the next time we hear from these queens will be when they have to file for bankruptcy, because they just had to have this lifestyle. Then they can get a realityshow on Bravo, so they can show off how wealthy they are while desperately trying to figure out a way to pay for it.
The level of tackiness is just unbelievable…I have no words for it. And I lived in Vegas, so I know tacky.
Chris
@Pickles: The couple granted interviews in several magazines. The people making it public is the couple themselves. No one invaded their privacy, they courted the publicity.
JD
This is misleading. Surrogacy overall costs around $100k. This supposed test for gender is about $2500. It’s one part of an overall test for genetic defects that can be used to determine which are the healthiest embryos to implant.
LaTeesha
@JD: Closer to $150K once everything is said and done.
Karl
This couple are a disgrace, absolute disgrace…
They appear regualary on British television, parading their children around like theyr the latest designer handbag. Everything to them is a possession. If they want it, theyr entitled to it – end of. Their children will end up the same way, mark my words. and life will hit them full in the face when theyr older when they realise things dont turn out that way.
You can tell when theyr interviewed on television the younger man is only with his older husband because of the wealthy lifestyle – what I would give to see them split up and an acrimonious divorce played out thru the tabloids. That would certainly wipe the smug smiles off their faces!
They seem to think because theyr gay that they have the right to be parents. Let me inform them of one fact – no-one has the right to be a parent. Its a gift, a privelege if you like.
They also seem to think that being gay absolves them of receiving any criticism. The word ‘homophobia’ is ramped around their numerous interviews more times than their childrens absurd names arounf their home, methinks.
They lavish tons of money on their kids and spoilthem rotten – what kind of an example is that to set for kids?
Giving their children bloody silly names only guarantees one thing – not only will they be bullied when they go to school for having two gay dads [which is awful enough] but they will get abuse for their fancy names.
But this selfish couple only care about themselves. They give other gays like us a bad name.
Pickles
@Chris
I never said anyone invaded their privacy.
And truth is I think people should get to see male couples raising happy children whether they have a million dollars or not.
I think THAT is the bigger issues.
People hating them for being rich or theoretically spoiling their kids is a distraction.
They real issues during Pride month should be that they are a long term apparently loving couple who are raising children they love.
Instead folks are just putting them on blast for having a lot of money and spending it on their kids. Again, I say, “WHO CARE”?
It’s not like they are politicians who are using the people’s taxes to buy their daughter diamond earrings.
What do folks here think being the children of millionaires is like?
They had a bunch of boys and wanted to have a girl.
As someone who has no desire to have kids, I can’t really see why it matters. I will never understand the drive or ANYONE to have kids (gay, straight or lesbian) but once you decide you want them, I feel like you should be able to have them as long as you don’t hurt anyone and you aren’t violating the law.
It’s no different then people wanting to adopt and only wanting a baby or only wanting a boy or girl or a certain ethnicity or racial background.
At the end of the day, the important thing is that the kids are loved and cared for.
Selfish is having kids you can’t afford or not using contraception then having a kid you give up for adoption or refusing to have an abortion based upon “religion” even though that same “religion” should have prevented you from having sex in the first place out side of marriage.
They only reason men here are being so bitchy is because this couple is rich and is talking to the public about their family (something other NON-RICH couples have done on this very site without being called selfish).
VISIBILITY is supposed to be a big part of how we get rid of shame and the isolation many gay folks feel in their communities.
Instead folks here focus on the “shallow” stuff about presents instead of just saying “Go head brothers with your family”
NO couple or family regardless of sexuality, nationality or wealth is infallible. Poor families fall apart, middle class families fall apart, wealth families damn sure do.
There is no reason this family couldn’t just turn out to be a great family with great kids who grow up to use their family’s wealth to do good for the LGBT community and the world in general.
The level of aggression and bitterness and just mean-spirited commenting here is what that “Thank you Haters” video last week was about.
Instead wishing them well and wishing them the best, folks are just jealously ripping them apart. You all might as well join AFA and NOM and get it over with because what you’re saying here doesn’t sound that far off from Westboro
mc
It’s not all bad. They were the first Gay British couple to have children through surrogacy in 1999 which paved the way for others. Their latest company is a Surrogacy Centre so obviously they’re big fans.
They said they wanted a girl because they didn’t want their one daughter to feel lonely so they don’t seem heartless.
I can’t really discount their claims of homophobia since I’ve seen responses in other outlets to any of their stories & there’s usually some homophobic comments about people bringing kids in the world with two dads. They’ve taken their kids away from a school district because of that & just recently were stopped by customs because they were told it was impossible to have two dads. They were finally released mostly due to their notoriety.
They’re wealthy & talk about giving their kids ridiculous things. I have family members less wealthy who also give their kids ridiculous things (like smart phones & multiple computers). It may cost less than Prada and designer clothes but spoiled is spoiled & a lot of parents do it. It doesn’t mean in the end, these kids won’t turn out fine.
Considering that what they did 12 years ago has helped other gay couples realize their dreams of having a family, maybe we should just wish them well.
Dave
Well, you can’t say that are or are not good parents based on this article. If their materialism is a substitute for love and parental care, then they are bad parents. If they are loving and caring parents who also happen to be materialistic show-offs, then they are good parents with a personality quirk. You can’t judge unless you know how they relate to these kids beyond spending money on them.
tookietookie
Genetic engineering is disgusting, period. Revolting hypocrisy for gay people, of all people, to do it. Revolting to play into the values of the worst uneducated self-serving straights that having children is some mindless “right”, given overpopulation and environmental degradation, etc. Go adopt a baby that needs a loving parent instead of adding to chronic problems.
Danny
@Karl:
wow!!! i dont know what planet your on, but it sounds like its could be Mars! lol erm, yes they are on the TV all the time at the moment and Yes, lots of interviews in magazines BUT what you dont see is all the work they do behind the scenes to gain equality for gay people. In any case, sounds like more going on in your agenda then your sayiing!!! lol had a run in with them have you?? sounds like you might have done. Oh, and just one more thing, these guys are together for over 25 years now, both met with no money in the family and bOTH very happy with each other. and why wouldnt they be, they have everything after all! lol
Danny
@Dave:
i agree, at the end of the day, the interviewer is going to put the slant on the article that best sells her magazine. if she askes a question during the interview about the cost of something, and they tell her, then she goes ahead and prints it in her style, then how can the guys be blamed for that. At the end of the day she has to get her article placed, but also she is going to make it as sellable to those crappy magazines as possible lol one thing i know about this family is the kids are well loved, the parents love each other and the gay community has benefited from them going on about the benefits in the gay community to adoption and fostering, which was not possible in the UK until a short time ago because of the efforts of these two men spending their money on fighting the good fight. BUT these storys in the mainstream press dont sell papers, homophobic establishments like those want to show gays as dicks so they go with these storys not the ones showing the good, just my point of view x