November 18, 2019
One of Britain's 'First Gay Dads' Now Dating Man Half His Age: His Daughter's Ex
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, 50, famed as one half of the couple that became known as Britain's "first gay fathers" - following the 1999 birth of twins Saffron and Aspen, with the help of a surrogate - is now dating a man half his age. And the man in question happens to be the 25-year-old ex-boyfriend of Saffron, now 19.
Hutchison and Saffron say that they always had a platonic relationship, reports UK newspaper the Daily Mail. Hutchison is openly bi.
The happy couple has received the family's blessing, including that of Saffron and of Tony, who is Drewitt-Barlow's longtime husband. The same-sex couple became civil partners as soon as that legal option was available to them, in 2006; in 2014, when marriage equality came to Britain, they married. The couple is now divorcing, with Dewitt-Barlow saying that they remain close friends but have drifted apart in other ways. The Daily Mail reported that the men began sleeping in separate rooms because Drewitt-Barlow snored; Tony later underwent treatment for cancer, and his health declined.
Saffron and Hutchison had split up some time before Drewitt-Barlow and Hutchison fell in love. The new couple lives in the family home in Florida with all five of the children that Drewitt-Barlow and Tony sired via surrogates; Tony, who reportedly encouraged the new relationship, also continues to live there.
Drewitt-Barlow exhibited a sense of humor about the situation, telling the media, "I'm not having a midlife crisis. This is the real deal." At Facebook, he went on say, "if you think that's bad, wait till you hear what's next!"
In that same Facebook post, Facebook, Drewitt-Barlow had this to say:
I'm not sure what the big deal is myself, things don't always work out in relationships for one reason or another, but Tony and I are both very happy about the way things have turned out and regardless of the negativity regarding our relationship, we will both be there for each other through this very difficult time.
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and Tony were the first same-sex couple in Britain allowed to both be listed as parents on their children's birth certificates, recalled American newspaper the New York Post.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
