A woman has revealed her ex-husband is fathering her baby with a new girlfriend - whilst living together with their two children.
Linda Fruits, 33, from Sunrise, Florida, US, called time on her marriage to Christopher Haerting, 36, in August 2021 after eight years together after struggling with a “sexless” relationship since welcoming their second child in early 2020.
It was when she was scrolling through TikTok, Linda discovered she was attracted to a woman and had a “sexual awakening” - realising she was a lesbian.
After meeting now-girlfriend Maddy Gross, 36, in November 2021, their relationship quickly progressed – with Maddy openly sharing her desire to have children.
And just six months after meeting, Maddy moved in to the family home with Linda, Christopher and their two sons, Elliot, four, and Owen, two.
The pair asked Christopher if he would consider being their sperm donor to expand the family, and the trio decided to move forwards together – with Christopher being the child’s dad, as well as sperm donor.
“When he said yes, I wasn’t sure who loved Maddy more – me, him, or the kids,” Linda said.
“On our second date, Maddy told me how she’s always wanted to be a mum and how she was actively trying to find a donor.
“We talked about how crazy it would be if Christopher was the donor and our kids could be related.
“We asked him five months later.”
While the request was rather unusual, Linda and Christopher’s co-parenting experience has been equally non-traditional, with the pair choosing to remain living together post-divorce.
Before the split, Linda was struggling with how platonic their relationship had become.
She said: “I couldn’t even bring myself to kiss him anymore and I questioned if we needed to have an open marriage because I genuinely felt bad for him, he wasn’t getting the things he needed to feel loved.”
She initially thought she may be bisexual and ‘came out’ to Christopher, but later realised she was only attracted to women, and they split in August 2021.
However, they agreed to remain a unit for the sake of their sons and continued to live together.
Christopher said: “It was still difficult from time to time, but we talked through our emotions all of the time, and this helped a lot.
“We both knew that our kids are the most important and being able to see them every day was more important than dividing our family and honestly, making things more complicated on ourselves.
“Most couples whose romantic relationship ends, needs to get away from each other to move on or because it’s toxic.
“We found a way to move on while still co-parenting and living together and it’s been great.”
Linda said: “We told our sons that we will always be a family and that we will always love them, and that mama and papa were going to be raising them as best friends from now on.
“They were so young and didn’t seem to care because they still had both parents under one roof.
“We continue to have little age-appropriate updates, again to give them the context so they don’t come up with the wrong ideas.
“The last conversation we had was about how lucky they are to have so many adults under one roof that love them.”
When Maddy came on the scene earlier this year, her strong connection with Linda was immediately apparent to the whole family.
Linda said: “After our first date, we were inseparable. We spent as much time as possible together. Maddy officially moved in six months later.
“Christopher was the first to offer to help pack up all her stuff and help get her place ready to rent out.”
Christopher: “It made complete sense for Maddy to move at that point. I was never concerned or felt anything negative towards Linda or Maddy at that time. I was honestly excited.
“Our kids love Maddy and being in the same house together has been rewarding and fun. We clean together, cook, and eat dinner together, occasionally go out together with and without the kids.”
When they asked him to donate sperm so Maddy could get pregnant, Christopher had to rethink their arrangement.
He said: “It was definitely not an instant yes. I had a lot of questions for each of them that I needed answered before I felt comfortable with it.
“My biggest non-negotiable was that I wasn’t comfortable being just a donor. I wanted to be the father/co-parent and legally on the birth certificate.
“Other than that, I wasn’t and am not worried about everything else. We will figure it out. I know that we will all do what’s best for our kids.”
Meanwhile Christopher has also moved on and currently has a girlfriend.
Linda said: “He’s been upfront when he meets women on apps so he doesn’t waste anyone’s time. It’s really worked out as a great filter system to find someone who is understanding and open minded.”
In November, the family announced they were expecting a baby in May 2023 and say the pregnancy is going “great” and the kids are “excited”.
Their arrangement has luckily been smooth sailing with family and friends accepting their choice, and other mums asking Linda for tips.
Linda added: “Just because two people weren’t meant to be, doesn’t mean someone is to blame and the kids don’t have to suffer because of it.
“We must put our egos aside and do what’s best for the children. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but we can’t take it personally.
“Co-parenting with a best friend is still hard so why would we want to do it with an enemy?
“We didn’t get to where we are in a day, it took a lot of communication, honesty, and just good old fashion time. Everyone needs a little time for the dust and temporary emotions to settle.
“Maybe by sharing our story we can change the outcome to be more positive for others. It doesn’t have to be the same old run of the mill toxic separation because this doesn’t benefit anyone, especially the kids.”
