A teen who stayed with 13 foster families in her formative years, credits a couple with 'changing her life' when she fell pregnant at 15. She is grateful for their unconditional support and is now so close to her new family, her baby now considers them 'grandad' and 'nana'.
Blossom Farey, now 21, was terrified when she found out she was expecting a baby in December 2016. She was unsure if she would raise her daughter or put her up for adoption, but decided to carry on with the pregnancy.
Blossom had been bounced around between foster families for four years and was worried about bringing up her new arrival in that environment. When her little girl, Arianah Farey, now five, was born in June 2017, Blossom knew she "had to keep her" and social services stepped in to help the mum and baby find a new foster family.
Blossom was surprised when Cher Quirke, 47, a fostering social worker, and her husband, Danny, 41, a taxi driver, and their daughter, Aimee, now 18, welcomed her and Arianah with open arms. The family treated Blossom and her baby girl as if they were her own - taking them on trips to London and helping out with Arianah.
They encouraged Blossom to follow her dreams and supported her when she moved into her own home in March 2021. Despite no longer being under their care, Blossom sees the family regularly and sees them as mother and father figures.
Arianah knows them as “grandad” and “nana” and the pair are still invited on family holidays. Blossom, a photographer, from Romford, Essex, said: “I didn’t have any stability and my life was turbulent before I fell pregnant.
“I didn’t expect Cher and Danny to take me in as they did. I hadn’t experienced that before.
“They made sure we all had dinner together and kept an eye on Arianah so I could have a bath. It took me a while to let my guard down and trust them completely but soon they became like a mum and a dad to me.
“Arianah calls them grandad and nana. Aimee is like a sister to me too, and I’ll tell her everything.
“They completely changed my life and set me down a new path.” Blossom had previously lived a troubled life and had gone through 13 foster families in four years.
“I was going down the wrong path when I found out I was pregnant. I was really scared but I just knew it was something I had to deal with.
“I didn’t know if I would raise my baby myself or get her adopted, but I knew I had to see it through.” Blossom gave birth to her daughter, Arianah, on June 13, 2017, weighing 7lbs 8oz, at Queen Hospital, Romford, Essex.
“As soon as I saw her I was certain I wanted to keep her," she said. Social services realised Blossom and her newborn needed more stability and set her up with a family in Rochford, Essex.
Blossom met Cher and Danny’s family when Arianah was a week old and moved in with them three weeks later at the end of June 2017. “I was quite closed off at first,” Blossom said.
“But Cher and Danny were so welcoming and gradually I eased up. They helped me get nappies and milk for Arianah and let me have a bath while they watched her.
“I started to realise that they weren’t going anywhere.” Cher, Danny and their daughter, Aimee, treated the young mum and tot as their own as soon as they moved in.
“They made sure we had dinner with them every night and just made us feel part of the family. They’ve always supported me in everything I do and even helped me with driving lessons.
“They started to become like a mum and dad to me, but it did take me a good few years to let my guard down completely. Arianah sees them as her grandparents.”
In March 2021, after four years with Cher and Danny, Blossom managed to save up enough to move into her own home with Arianah. However still sees the Quirke family regularly, who are now part of her and little Arianah's life.
“I’m still in Rochford and at first it was hard living alone. So I would go back to stay at weekends or Aimee would come and stay,” she said.
“Even now, if something goes wrong with my car or something like that Danny will help out. They’re still there for me.
“They even still take us on family trips with them and Cher just paid for Aimee and I to go to Ibiza together. They’ve completely changed my life.
“I never expected to have such a close bond with a foster family, but they always treated us like we were their own. They’ll always be in mine and Arianah’s life.”
Cher said: “When I first met Blossom she was completely different to how she is now, and she had been through so much trauma. It took her a long while to trust us, but we just kept saying ‘we’re here for you.’
“We’ve always been family-orientated so we made sure Blossom and Arianah became a part of that. We took them on walks, to visit castles, on caravan holidays with us and abroad.
“She’s like another daughter. We made sure she still got to live life as a teenager, so we looked after Arianah when Blossom needed us to.
“Fostering doesn’t always happen like this, but we just clicked as a family. We have an incredible bond.”
