Big Brother winner Brian Dowling has described his sister as “incredible” and an “angel” in an emotional tribute after she acted as a surrogate mother for him and his husband and last week welcomed a baby girl.
The Irish TV presenter, 44, and his husband, Armenian professional dancer Arthur Gourounlian, 42, took to Instagram on Sunday to announce the birth of their daughter, Blake, on Thursday, September 1. Brian, who won the second series of the Channel 4 reality show in 2001, has now posted a lengthy and heartfelt tribute to his sister Aiofe, who carried his child.
Praising the “dedication and focus” of his surrogate sister, Brian said: "You are an absolutely incredible human. From our first jokingly conversations about this back in 2015 when you moved in with us in London to our more serious chats about it in January 2021 in the middle of the pandemic when we would go on our daily walks.
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“You have always put yourself out there for everyone to voice their opinions about this and you never faltered.”
Brian also revealed they had received “vile [and] disgusting” messages from trolls which only compelled them to be more open regarding their surrogacy journey. He went on to say how he and husband Arthur almost gave up in their attempts to conceive through IVF egg donation but were encouraged to keep trying by his sister.
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Brian – who also presented Big Brother from 2011 to 2013 – added he felt his sister deserved a medal or a knighthood for her selfless act. He added: "You aren't just my sister or Arthur's sister-in-law, you are an angel and my best friend.
"You deserve the world and everything you desire. We love you Aoife darling you are our queen and long may you reign."
New father Brian proudly shared the news of his new baby from Dublin’s National Maternity Hospital on Sunday, saying: "Please be upstanding for the arrival of our beautiful daughter Blake Maria Rose Dowling Gourounlian. [She] was delivered safely on Thursday September 1st at 14:52pm weighing 7lb 4ozs.
"We are absolutely, totally in love with her and can’t believe she’s here and is ours. None of this would have been possible without our donor, a woman we have never met or even seen a picture of but has given us the gift of life.”
Describing his sister as a “saint,” Brian added: “We will forever be grateful to you for the rest of our lives. Baby Blake can’t wait for her Aunty Aoife to spoil her.”
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