From a young age, Terrell and Jauris Joseph, from Atlanta, both knew that they were destined to be dads. Now they are the parents to two three-year-olds who fill their lives with joy and love
When they were both 22, the couple bought a house and hoped to fill it with plenty of kids. They considered adoption, but no agencies would world with them because they were so young.
Many surrogacy agencies charge around $150,000 per pregnancy, but the couple was able to find an independent surrogate for much less. Sadly, their first try resulted in a miscarriage at 20 weeks.
Jauris and Terrell decided to hire a new surrogate, who struggled to conceive. As they started working with a third surrogate, their dreams came true. As fate would have it, both women conceived at almost the same time!
While Jairus was freaked out, Terrell was ecstatic. “I was over the moon because I always wanted twins, and this was the next closest thing.”
Babies Ashton and Aria came into the world less than five weeks apart, each one month premature. Jairus sees meaning in their premature births. “Looking back on it, it was just perfect. Once we actually got them back home, it was like everything we wanted. God’s timing is perfect.”
Now, Terrell and Jauris have active Instagram and TikTokaccounts that chronicle the lives of three-year-olds Aria and Ashton.
They have a passion for showing the world that gay couples can be spectacular parents and that Black dads “can be active in our kids’ lives.”
The couple has said goodbye to the corporate world, and has embraced the social media influencer lifestyle instead.
They have 210,000 followers on Instagram, and a stellar 1.1 million on TikTok. They regularly share clips of their happy family life, including dancing, hair tutorials, and simply having fun with each other. Last year they were the first gay Black family to appear on Wife Swap.
The couple believed in inspiring others
Jairus says, “I feel like there are so many people in our community who still to this day don’t see the life that they would like to have being actually a possibility. Don’t think that just because you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community that you can’t have certain things in life or that success won’t come your way.”
Husband Terrell adds, “with fatherhood in general and Black fatherhood, I know that historically, [the stereotype is dads] aren’t involved. We can be active in our kids’ lives and give them everything that they dream of, or at least try to.”
They are showing millions of people that it is not only possible, but it is also fun and beautiful
The couple is currently enjoying their time with Aria and Ashton, but have said that more children could definitely be in their future.
We love following the Joseph family, and we can’t wait to watch them grow!
