In this episode of Proud Conception, we speak with Marty, who is husband to Mike (for 30 years!), and dad to their son Xavier, who’s now 18. Their family’s journey began before marriage equality, at a time when adoption and surrogacy were limited pathways for queer couples in Aotearoa. Instead, Marty and Mike pursued permanent foster care which led to Xavier joining their whānau when he was four years old.

Marty speaks about the process of applying to become foster parents, receiving “the phone call,” and the early days of welcoming their child into their home. He talks about the challenges of working within the foster care system, managing Xavier’s high and complex needs, and building extended whānau connections with Xavier’s siblings and birth family.

We also touch on Marty’s professional work as Director of Pride Pledge, about what he’s seeing in workplaces around support for rainbow families. If you’re interested in the work Marty does at Pride Pledge, you can learn more at https://pridepledge.co.nz/

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