José Rolón (a.k.a. @nycgaydad) is a single gay dad who has been going viral for his social media posts that poke fun at parenthood and gay culture simultaneously.
“I grew up in a machismo household with a father who yelled at me to ‘walk like a man and not like a f*ggot,’” the 44-year-old single dad tells TODAY. “If you had pulled me aside and said, ‘One day you’ll have a big, happy family,’ I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Today, Rolón is the father of 7-year-old son, Avery, and 6-year-old twin daughters, Lilah and London.
“I want LGBTQ youth to know that there’s hope,” he says. “I get messages from moms all the time that are like, ‘My son is 13 and he’s gay and really struggling. Thank you for showing him what’s possible.”
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Rolón, who works as an event planner in New York, has 25,000 followers on his personal Instagram page plus another 10,000 on his business’ page, as well as almost 140,000 TikTok fans.
He regularly shares photos of humorous videos of himself and his three kids.
While his posts are definitely happy, uplifting, and inspiring, Rolón’s story is not without tragedy. In 2013, his husband, Tim Merrell, died suddenly in his sleep. At the time, Avery was still an infant and the couple’s surrogate was just 11 weeks pregnant Lilah and London.
“My husband and I were a great team,” he says. “I couldn’t imagine doing it without him. But on the morning of Tim’s funeral service, I woke up and I thought, ‘Avery just lost his father. What if something were to happen to me?’ I didn’t want to leave him alone in this world. I knew what I was supposed to do.”
At the funeral, Rolón announced he and Merrell had two more babies on the way.
“That was kind of my call for love and prayers,” he recalls. “And I’ve been supported ever since. It really does take a village.”
Scroll down for more pics from Rolón’s Instagram page…
Related: Awesome dad asks the internet for advice after seeing his teenage son kissing another guy in public
Matthewnow
I’m 60 and still looking to be adopted. Great Dad!
Josh447
Wow great clips. He has a great sense of humor. That’s what I rely on to pull me through the worst of times. It works well. Gorgeous fam.
WSnyder
It’s these types of stories that need more exposure, not the usual cr*p about one of the Kartrashians doing something insipid. And I’m not talking about here on Queerty, I’m talking Main Stream. All these Red states and their homophobic laws that prevent, or wanting to prevent, queer couples or singles from adopting. I think a majority of the people behind these laws know that LGBTQ+ people adopting aren’t out to ‘covert’ kids into becoming queer, what they ARE afraid of is that those kids will be STRONG LGBTQ+ allies [i.e. Zach Wahls] for the LGBTQ+ Community and that terrifies the homophobes.
sanfranca1
Absolutely adorable!.
joserolon
Ah, thanks for featuring my family guys! It’s been fun creating these videos with the kiddos–especially during this COVID world we’re all living in.
José Rolón (@nycgaydad)
Josh447
You’re a great inspiration! Thx Jose.
Jack Meoff
Love the fact that you are putting yourself and your family out there as an example for the world to see. Talk about your positive role models. Keep up the good work.
Cam
How dare you force your sexuality and your family on a God fearing Christian nation!?!?!
Just kidding, thank you for making us laugh and for putting out so much positivity in the world. Your kids are luck to have such a great dad!
Chris
I follow this guy on TikTok. Absolutely amazing man and his courage to press forward in his deceased husband’s name always brings tears to my eyes when I watch his videos. These kids are SO lucky to have a father like him.
enlightenone
A gay man of strength, emotional maturity, and knows his priorities, RARE in these articles/stories!
Polaro
Simply fabulous.