The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories

Lex Beach is a gay mom of seven kids (ages 8–23), and her LGBTQ family-building story truly covers the waterfront: donor sperm, IUIs, donor sibling connections, parenting through divorce, blended same sex family life, known-donor attempts, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, and ultimately IVF. Lex knew she wanted to be a mom from the jump—and at 22 , she got pregnant (the gay way) right after coll...

We were supposed to be dark this week… but instead, we popped in with a very special bonus episode . In this short, unscripted, slightly chaotic conversation, Jaimie is joined by longtime friend and collaborator Jose Rolón (aka @nycgaydad) to officially announce their brand-new podcast:💥 Love, Take Two 💥This episode, recorded without a producer, without an editor, and without a microphone (sorry...

I’m putting this archived conversation back into the world because, like many of you, I’m feeling overwhelmed, angry, and honestly a bit helpless after the most recent ICE killing of Alex Pretti . When violence like this happens it can feel impossible to know where to put our grief or how to turn it into action. This episode with Marie Newman is a reminder that change doesn’t come from waiting to...

ARCHIVE (Recorded in 2024): Meet Shawndeez, a non-binary trans dad who shares their journey towards self-discovery and parenthood. Shawndeez discusses the challenges they faced as a queer and trans individual, their decision to pursue IVF and egg retrieval, and the importance of unconditional love in the parent-child relationship. Shawndeez also talks about their work supporting parents of trans c...

This episode was recorded in 2020 and originally released under the show’s former name, If These Ovaries Could Talk . While Ranae von Meding’s family life may look a bit different today, the laws in Ireland have not meaningfully changed —and many same-sex parents are still fighting for full legal recognition and protection for their children. At eight months pregnant, Ranae von Meding learned a sh...

This episode originally aired back when the show was called If These Ovaries Could Talk , hosted by Jaimie Kelton and Robin Hopkins — before the show evolved into The Queer Family Podcast . Over the years, I’ve had countless listeners reach out asking the same thing: “Can you connect me with Emily and Sara? I want to learn how they shipped fresh sperm.” So I’m resurfacing this conversation because...

As we head into a new year, we’re revisiting a very special episode — and carrying those Pride vibes forward with us . This episode originally aired as the finale of our very first Pride Extravaganza , where all month long (and a little beyond) we doubled up on Queer Family goodness with incredible guests and powerful stories. For this grand finale, I asked every single Pride Extravaganza guest on...

Before The Queer Family Podcast had its name, it began as If These Ovaries Could Talk —a show Jaimie launched with original co-host Robin Hopkins. In this very first episode, Robin interviews Jaimie and her wife Anne as they share the real-time story of building their family as a lesbian couple: unexpected infertility, choosing a sperm donor, navigating IUI and IVF, and the emotional and financial...

Jaimie talks with Naia , founder of Be Parent Surrogacy , about international surrogacy options, what intended parents can expect when working with an agency, and how Be Parent supports LGBTQIA+ families with transparency, ethics, and hands-on care. Naia also shares her own IVF story and her real-time sperm donor search—including why she’s choosing to freeze embryos as a future “insurance policy....

Anish & Miguel are two dads in Berlin who recently welcomed their son, Alexander, through agency-based surrogacy. And listen — some of us (cough… Jaimie… cough) approached queer family building with good vibes and very few spreadsheets. But THESE TWO? Absolute meticulous gay dad excellence. From cross-country agency visits, to karyotype testing, to annual goal-setting (“become parents” was lit...

Sam & Laura Abbey are BACK, y’all. The last time they were on the show it was still called If These Ovaries Could Talk , they only had one kid, and their Bravo reality show moment had just helped catapult them into queer family-building visibility. Seven years and two very boy-ish boys later, we’re catching up on IVF paid out of pocket (twice), using the same sperm donor for both kids, what ha...

Midwife, parent, nurse, educator, and proud Palestinian Ash joins Jaimie for a powerful, expansive conversation that connects queer birth work, liberation, bodily autonomy, and the politics of modern healthcare. From becoming a parent before coming into their trans identity, to the crisis inside U.S. obstetrics, to creating community-centered birth education for queer & trans families, Ash bri...

Jaimie chats with Yanica & Leah , the interracial two-mom family behind @thefaustinfam, about building a queer family with intention. They discuss their donor conception journey, navigating race and colorism, raising multiracial donor-conceived kids, second-parent adoption, coming out stories, and parenting free spirited little humans in the South. If you love stories about LGBTQ family buildi...

Author and educator Kirsty Loehr joins Jaimie to share her beautifully messy story of queer family building — from reciprocal IVF with her ex-wife to co-parenting their 4-year-old son and now navigating life in a blended family with her new partner and her partner’s two kids. Kirsty talks candidly about the breakup that came just months after welcoming her son, the challenges of 50/50 custody, and...

Alon Rivel joins Jaimie for a brutally honest, funny, and heartfelt conversation about what it really takes—emotionally, financially, and spiritually—to build a queer family through surrogacy. From his surrogate’s iconic one-liners (“I’m not keeping it”) to his reflection that queer parents are architects of love , Alon reminds us what intentional parenthood looks like. 🏳️‍🌈 Key Takeaways The int...

Meet Mark and Eoin , two Irish dads proving that queer family building is both an act of love and of advocacy. Their path to fatherhood took them from Ireland to New York and Texas—navigating surrogacy independently, honoring their daughters’ Nigerian-Irish heritage, and pushing the Irish government to finally recognize families like theirs. Together, they’ve turned loss, learning, and legislation...

What happens when you grow up in an evangelical cult, spend years closeted, marry to appease your family, and still find your way to queerness, healing, and chosen family? Therapist and author SC Nealy (they/she) joins Jaimie to share their powerful story of resilience and reinvention. From a childhood in religious isolation to co-parenting two daughters one block away from their queerplatonic co-...

In this mind-expanding conversation, Jaimie sits down with Maya Gonzalez — genderqueer artist, author, publisher, educator, parent, and creator of The Gender Wheel — an innovative, nature-based framework that reimagines how we understand gender, identity, and self. Maya takes us through their lifelong work of blending art, research, and spirit to help kids (and grownups!) move beyond the binary an...

Kevin and Alim—longtime partners, dads of two, and global citizens—share how they built their family through Canadian surrogacy, what they looked for in an egg donor, and how they talk to their kids about donor conception using a “meet them where they are” approach. We get real about the bio vs. non-bio parent feelings (yes, they’re normal), the difference between a natural birth and a planned C-s...

Screens are everywhere — but how do we keep them from taking over our kids’ lives? In this special ally episode , Jaimie sits down with Casey O’Roarty , a positive discipline trainer, parent coach, and host of the Joyful Courage podcast, to talk about raising kids in a high-tech world. Casey shares practical strategies for balancing independence with safety, building critical thinking skills, sett...

Queer therapist and “kid of queer parents” Ann Russo joins Jaimie to show what ordinary, extraordinary queer family looks like. Raised in the ’80s by a mom, dad, and dad’s partner under one roof—publicly “the roommate” for safety—Ann shares how chosen family (yes, Deadhead potlucks) and three parents taught compassion, and why bio vs. non-bio bonds never mattered. We get religious trauma 101 : Ann...

Transmasc author and parent Jesse Callans joins Jaimie to flip the parenting script. Jesse shares how he pressed pause on transition to build a family (surprise—then three more!), what it looked like to transition while his kids were 7, 4, 2, and 1, and how toddlers helped distill a complex change down to “the things that stay the same” (yes, there will still be spoons and napkins ). We dig into g...

We went in-studio (!) with journalist Orion Rummler (The 19th) and Rachel Minkin (Pew Research Center, and a gay mom) to unpack Pew’s major 2025 study of LGBTQ+ Americans—released around the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell . We talk social acceptance gaps (L/G & bi vs. trans/nonbinary), how data actually moves policy, the everyday realities of queer family-building (hello, insurance barriers...

In this Season 20 opener, Jaimie sits down in person (for the first time in years!) with two powerhouse voices in the LGBTQIA+ family-building world: José Rolón (aka NYC Gay Dad ) and Luce Remey (VP of Public Policy at Family Equality ). Together, they dive deep into what it really means to build, protect, and nurture queer families in today’s political climate. From navigating wills, Social Secur...

🎉 Bonus Episode Alert! 🎉 Season 20 officially drops on September 1st , but while you wait, we’ve got one last bonus for you. This heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation redefines what it means to parent in our queer, messy, beautiful, modern world. Writer, activist, and parent S. Bear Bergman sits down with Jaimie to explore love, family, and LGBTQIA identity against the backdrop of today’...