Surrogate Baby Journey: Eight-Month Wait for Parents

Ex In The Style founder Adam Frisby has revealed the struggle he and his fiancé Jamie Corbett are facing to become the legal parents of their surrogate baby. 

The couple detailed their journey on This Morning on Tuesday and explained why they travelled to America to welcome Leven Rose, three months old, via a surrogate and an egg donor. 

They sat down with hosts  and as they explained that, after the lengthy surrogacy process across the pond where they are recognised as Leven's parents, they are facing a legal battle here in the UK. 

Now back in Britain, Adam and Jamie are no longer recognised as Leven's legal parents due to differences in law surrounding - with Leven's surrogate instead recognised as her mother. 

The couple opened up about launching a government petition to change the law on surrogacy, revealing it could eight to ten months to be classed as their daughter's parents.

Speaking about their decision to travel to the USA for their surrogacy journey, Adam explained: 'It was really important for us [to be there for] the whole journey, so we picked a surrogate that we could work with that we could be able to be there for the birth, enjoy every part of it, be there for every part of Leven's journey. 

'It was an experience, it was just amazing. We'd planned for Leven, we'd thought about her for six years, and we honestly didn't know if this would ever happen for us.

'We grew up thinking that two dads can't have a family, so for us to have little Leven and live in this moment, it's just amazing for us. That moment was so special.'

Jamie added: 'We just spent 24 hours crying. I think when she was born she must have thought "God these two are miserable", but they were happy tears, we were just crying all the time.'

Jamie continued: 'Because of the current laws around surrogacy in the UK, we chose to go to the States, we're legally recognised as her parents from the minute she is born.

'The laws in the States, they favour both the surrogate and the intended parents which means that when she is born, the surrogate then can’t change her mind and it means that we also can’t change our minds. 

'Whereas in the UK, the surrogate has a right until the baby is of a certain age where they can keep the baby until this parental order is in place, and they can change their mind at any point.

Jamie added: 'There are very few cases [in the UK] but there has been cases where the surrogate has decided to keep the child and then the intended parents don’t get the baby. The US just protects that.'

Adam then went on: ‘We used a separate egg donor, we created our embryos so she’s not biologically connected to the baby at all, but [the surrogate] is incredible and what she's done to help us start a family amazing.' 

Adam continued: 'The way the UK law stands at the moment is, when a child is born via surrogacy, the surrogate is automatically the legal parent even if they have no biological connection, and what’s crazy if that if they are married, their partner or husband is the other legal parent, even if there’s no genetic connection at all to the baby. 

'Ultimately, it leaves me and Jamie, you, Cat and Ben, almost have the same rights as me and Jamie do [over Leven] in our situation, which is crazy.'

Jamie added: ’She’s classed in the UK as "parentless" at the minute because under UK law, she wasn't classed as being born in what is classed as "the right means".'

Adam explained that the couple are legally recognised as Leven's parents in the US, but their status has not been carried over when they returned to the UK.  

He explained: 'We have to go through an 8-10 month process... You have to do an endless amount of paperwork, you have to be assessed by a social worker to make sure you’re fit enough to be parents, even though we already are, we have then to go to a High Court and get a parental order.

'It's just a big process that really as new parents we shouldn't have to go through, we should be recognised, especially in 2026, just like every other parent is for their child.'

Jamie continued: 'It is a small price to pay to get our names on Leven’s birth certificate, we’d do it a hundred times over, but it's an eight-month process and like Adam said, it's quite intrusive.