Known Donor, Reciprocal IVF & Three Kids Later | Vanessa & Jory

About this episode

Vanessa and Jory share their journey of building a family through known donor conception and reciprocal IVF while navigating the challenges of being queer parents.

Vanessa and Jory of @modernfamilynextdoor join the Pride Extravaganza to share their journey from closeted college classmates to raising three children together. They open up about religious shame, coming out to family, known donor conception, reciprocal IVF, difficult pregnancies, and the emotional realities of non-bio parenting in queer families. This conversation is funny, vulnerable, and deeply relatable for anyone navigating LGBTQ family building. 🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways Vanessa and Jory share how growing up religious shaped their experiences with internalized homophobia and delayed coming out. The couple discusses falling in love after meeting in college — despite both initially trying to avoid their attraction to women. They open up about coming out to family members, navigating acceptance, and the emotional impact of feeling like they might lose family relationships. Vanessa and Jory explain how they built their family through known donor conception and later expanded their family through reciprocal IVF. The conversation explores the unique emotional realities of non-bio parenting in queer families, including fears around bonding and identity. Vanessa shares the painful…

People in this episode

Host: Jaimie Kelton

Guests: Vanessa, Jory

Topics covered

• known donor conception
• reciprocal IVF
• queer parenting
• LGBTQ family building
• emotional realities of non-bio parenting

Keywords

• LGBTQ families
• queer parenting
• known donor
• reciprocal IVF
• emotional impact
• coming out
• family acceptance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: modernfamilynextdoor

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