24.
“I’m a single mom by choice. I have a beautiful and healthy daughter who is 6 years old. I lost a baby boy in 2014, the father was a guy I dated at that time, and I was desperate to be a mother to a living child. I tell everyone I got pregnant the second time through insemination by a donor in a fertility clinic. Truth is I was rejected because my BMI was a tiny bit too high. So, I met a guy through a website where you can find men who want to donate sperm privately. We met up, and I inseminated myself with his sperm (we were in different rooms, very clinical, no touching, etc.) and got pregnant on the first try.”
“The guy was a genuine, good guy with no interest in having his own children, but didn’t want his sperm to go to waste. I haven’t talked to him since I told him I got a healthy baby. But I’ve saved his name for when I tell my daughter the truth. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I was so sad and desperate after I lost my son. And I’m so happy with my daughter now. I’ve never, ever told anyone this.”
—32, Sweden