My husband told me he didn’t want any more kids – so I’m having one with another man instead
ADMIRING the freshly painted nursery, Kylie Evans lets out a sigh of contentment as she feels the baby kick.
She is 36 weeks pregnant with her first child, who she has already named Hudson Ray after her late grandad.
Husband Mick, who at 63 is 28 years older than Kylie, is every bit as delighted.
But he is not the baby’s father.
Kylie conceived using sperm from a stranger who has the same blue eyes, bald head and medium build as her other half.
Kylie, from Manchester, says: “In an ideal world, Mick would be the biological father, but it wasn’t possible.
“The fact we’re having a baby at all feels like a miracle and he will be as much our baby’s parent as I am.”
The couple met in 2008 at the pub where Kylie was working.
She was 19 and Mick, a cleaner, was 47.
“I’d never fancied an older man before but there was something about Mick that I fell for,” says Kylie, who now works in a sandwich shop.
“He was the life and soul of the party and had twinkly eyes.
‘It hasn’t been an easy pregnancy’
“I did the chasing and at first he’d bat away my flirting, telling me he was old enough to be my father.
“In fact, he is six years older than my dad.
“Eventually, he succumbed to me constantly asking him out but told me he had two children and that he’d had a vasectomy as he didn’t want any more.
“Back then, kids were the last thing on my mind, I just wanted Mick.”
Within 18 months, the couple had moved in together and although Kylie’s 57-year-old dad Mark and mum Michelle, 56, initially disapproved because of the age gap, they soon came round.
Mick’s daughter Laura, 32, is three years younger than Kylie and his son Aidan, 28, is seven years younger, but they have always accepted Kylie.
Mick is often mistaken for Kylie’s dad, which the pair find funny.
In 2015, Mick proposed while they were on holiday in Greece and last year they married at Bury register office.
When Kylie was in her mid- twenties, her biological clock started ticking.
“Suddenly, I desperately wanted a baby,” she says.
“It didn’t take much to persuade Mick as he loves being a dad and our relationship is so strong.”
They explored Mick having a vasectomy reversal, but the doctor said it was unlikely to work.
In 2018 they asked to be referred to a fertility specialist. Kylie says:
“When tests showed I had polycystic ovary syndrome and wasn’t ovulating, I burst into tears.
“I tried to accept that we’d never have a baby but the urge became even stronger.”
The couple hoped to try IVF but at the time, Kylie, who is 4ft 10in, weighed nearly 25st and was a size 26 so was told she didn’t qualify.
“I desperately wanted a baby, so I was determined to lose weight,” she says.
“But as no diet had ever worked, I knew I’d need weight-loss surgery.”
In January 2022, the couple flew to Latvia, where Kylie had a gastric bypass at a cost of £7,000.
Within a year, she’d lost 11st and was delighted when tests showed she was ovulating.
In July last year, she and Mick found a fertility clinic locally that offered artificial insemination.
She says: “We chose the donor together and although you can’t see a photo, we asked for a man with the same characteristics as Mick.”
Kylie got pregnant at the first attempt but had an early miscarriage.
Their next attempt failed but in October, and after spending £7,500, Kylie conceived.
“I was excited but scared I’d miscarry again,” she says.
“But after our 12-week scan I finally allowed myself to believe we were going to be parents.
“It hasn’t been an easy pregnancy, though.
“I had severe morning sickness and was in hospital with kidney stones, so this will be my first and last baby.
“But we’re so excited and Mick is as thrilled as me.
“He will be Hudson’s dad in every way that matters.
“And he’ll be a good one, as he’s brilliant with his children and grandchildren.”
Reflecting on Mick’s age, Kylie, who is due in July, is realistic.
“I wish he was younger, but only because then he’d be around longer for me and Hudson Ray,” she says.
“But he’s young at heart and he’d do anything for me, including let me carry another man’s baby.
“I feel so lucky.”
Mick says: “I’m not thinking about it being another man’s child.
“I knew I wanted a baby with Kylie once we’d been together for a while and now we’re having one, I’ve been there every step of the way.
“It will be great being an older dad, and I can’t wait to push a pram again.”