It’s been 13 years since the world first found out that Thomas Beatie had become the first man to get pregnant and give birth. Today, Beatie, 47, is a father to four children and is married to his second wife. As an author, public speaker and advocate for transgender issues, Beatie has made it his life’s purpose to help educate others on LGBTQIA+ issues with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.
When he was 10 years old, Beatie began identifying as a man, and he publicly came out in 1997. In March 2002, he had sex reassignment surgery. He had gotten pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007 since his wife at the time, Nancy, was infertile. The couple later divorced in 2012, and Beatie went on to marry Amber Nicholas in 2016.
Beatie made history in 2008 when he became the first man to get pregnant and give birth, and he has since given birth to two more children. His life changed drastically following the public release of his pregnancy during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. He has since gone on to write personal essays and books documenting his experience being a pregnant man, and many television specials and even movies have been made to highlight the subject.
Unfortunately, Beatie had to deal with relentless media attention and misunderstandings from strangers as more people found out about his past and continued to refer to him as the pregnant man. Nowadays, Beatie lives a relatively quiet life with his family in Phoenix, Arizona, and has made it his mission to help educate others about his experience.
Thomas Beatie, Amber Nicholas (2012), (Beatie Family/TB/Getty Images)
Speaking with TODAY Health in June 2021, Beatie opened up about what his life is like today and how he believes the trans community benefited from the publicized media attention his pregnancy received. “When my story came out, there wasn’t a single person in the public eye as a transgender man — most people have never heard of it,” Beatie said. “And then on top of that, they can give birth! I think exposing the importance of fertility for trans people was a huge eye-opener.”
Beatie gave birth to his first child, Susan, in 2008, and went on to have two more children with Nancy. After the couple separated, he remarried in 2016 to Amber, who worked at the daycare his children had attended, according to TODAY Health. They had a baby together in 2018, with Amber being the one to give birth.
Did you know about Thomas Beatie’s story? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your friends and family, too!
