Brian Dowling has set his sights on becoming a first-time dad in 2022.
The Big Brother icon, 43, is hoping that this year will finally be the right time for him and husband Arthur Gourounlian to welcome their first child together.
The lovebirds, who tied the knot in 2015, have both shared their dreams of becoming parents over the years, but the process has been much harder than they first anticipated - partly due to the strict surrogacy laws in Ireland.
As it stands, surrogacy is unregulated in Irish law and mothers of children born through surrogacy, even through gestational surrogacy - in which the child is biologically theirs - have no rights to their children.
Currently, mothers who welcome a child via surrogacy have to wait two years before they can apply through the courts for parental rights.
Brian, who hopes to welcome a child through surrogacy with husband Arthur, told Daily Mirror that he has to remind himself to keep a positive mindset amid the setbacks due to the strict Irish laws.
"I have hopes that this year, myself and Arthur will become parents," Brian said in an exclusive interview.
"It's only January, so I am really just keeping a positive mindset and doing all I can to stay optimistic."
Brian, who first shot to fame in 2001 after winning the second series of Big Brother, described the surrogacy laws as 'absurd' as he detailed his and Arthur's struggles on their journey to parenthood.
"I thought I would have been a parent last year, but there are no guarantees with surrogacy in Ireland. There are no guarantees that anything is viable or that anything is going to work," the much-loved TV star explained.
"There are just some parts of it all that are so, so, tough, but that's life. Me and Arthur might be struggling as gay parents, but there are so many people who struggle. There are so many heterosexual couple's who are struggling with fertility right now.
"This isn't just about gay guys and husbands trying to have families - everyone struggles. But I think in Ireland, the rules around surrogacy are absolutely ridiculous. The fact that the female egg is put into the surrogate, and then the surrogate is named as the biological mother just isn't right - it' not even related to the child."
Brian went on to reveal that when he and Arthur eventually welcome a child, only one of them will have parental rights for two years.
"For me and Arthur, only one of us will be the biological parent. I wouldn't want to find that out, but eventually, we'll have to because someone's name has to go on the birth certificate. So, whether it's me or Arthur, one of us won't have rights for up to two years - it's absurd.
"I'm hoping in 2022 or 2023 that we're going to become parents, but unfortunately, there are no guarantees when it comes to stuff like this - especially here in Ireland. And I think sometimes, people are afraid to speak about it because it really is a struggle and I think there is still a lot of shame surrounding it to be honest.
"Over the past couple of years, I've had to learn a lot about life and fertility. I'm 44 this year and I can't be 100 when my child starts school. The clock is ticking. We're lucky we don't have to carry the child, but time is running out."
"You have to be very, very, patient and keep that positive mindset," Brian added.
Brian is currently part of Bother’s Big Bother Shopping List Challenge; a campaign highlighting supermarket shopping for boring cupboard basics - whether instore or online - is a chore Brits spend far too long doing.
Showing how smart shopping services make shopping quicker and easier, watch Brian as he takes on the Bother Brain in the Shopping List Challenge, and for more information about Bother visit, here.
