TV stars Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian could be set to air their surrogacy journey in a special documentary.
The former Big Brother star and the Dancing With The Stars judge are preparing to welcome their first child this September. Brian’s 33-year-old sister, Aoife, is the couple’s surrogate.
Now Brian reveals the trio are in talks to air a show on their surrogacy journey.
Brian told us: “We are in talks about potentially doing something, yes. It’s more local in Ireland. Obviously with the option to sell to whoever wants it and to the UK or wherever.
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“I just think that because our situation is quite unique and the fact that it is Arthur and I and my sister, we have talked about that. Obviously, there is a time issue on that, but we’ll be making a decision on that really soon.
“There is a lot of interest, which is really understandable because of what we are doing and the dynamics of it.”
Brian said the couple still can’t believe they are about to be parents.
He said: “I can't believe we're going to be parents. It's so strange how 2022 was the year for us. Especially when we moved back here in 2020 and I was on Dancing With The Stars and then Covid and Arthur was a judge (on Dancing With The Stars) and we were trying to have a baby at the same time. I just think, yeah you never know what is going to happen, do you?”
Brian and Arthur also hope to take as much paternity leave as they can when the tot arrives later this year.
Brian said: “It would be nice to have a couple of weeks together but because we're self-employed we kind of have to go where the work is.
“A lot of times when we're working collaborations or partnerships, we can do it by the phone which is quite unique so we physically don't have to leave the house so I would love to have September off together and some of October off together again but we've always said there are two of us so it is about top and tailing and making it work because now we have a child and we have to work more," he said jokingly.
"The days of Brian Dowling being a princess and saying ‘I'm not doing that’ are long gone,” he said laughing.
The couple were speaking at the launch of the 2022 Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, which is focused on investing in sustainable communities to enable everyone to live in a community where economic and environmental sustainability as well as social equity is at its heart.
With grants totalling €100,000 now available to charities, community groups and non-profit organisations across the island of Ireland, committed to nurturing a generation of change champions who will help to shape, create and maintain sustainable communities for the benefit of all.
Having grown up in a small village of Rathangan in Co. Kildare, Brian has seen first-hand the influence local community programmes can have on the future of young people, while husband and world-renowned choreographer Arthur had his own experience as a 12-year-old refugee, having escaped the war in his hometown of Armenia.
Brian said: “As the eldest of seven, I’ve always felt a sense of responsibility for my six sisters, and in more recent years for all our nieces and nephews.
“The grants made available through the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund are safeguarding programmes like this one here in Drogheda, that are providing access to education, encouraging diversity and inclusivity in all our communities and empowering young people to take a more active role in caring for the environment, so if you’re a community leader with an idea that needs funding to get it off the ground, I really would encourage you to apply.”
