Mr Andersen, a sperm donor, had indicated that he was willing to meet a child that came from his genetic pool
Ms Hart's mother tracked Mr Andersen down online and the pair decided to meet after Leila's first birthday
It did not take long for the pair to fall in love and confide in each other about their feelings towards one another
The pair were married atop a cliff overlooking the ocean in December, with young Leila acting as flower girl
Aminah Hart and Scott Andersen fell in love after conceiving Leila through anonymous IVF
Two strangers who fell in love after
conceiving a daughter through anonymous IVF have tied the knot, with
their beautiful and unique love story set to become a feature film.
Aminah Hart and Scott Andersen, from
Victoria, first laid eyes on each other in 2013, a year after their
daughter Leila was born.
Mr Andersen was a sperm donor and Ms
Hart had decided to go through IVF after enduring the tragic loss of
two sons, Marlon and Louis, to a genetic disorder called x-linked
myotubular myopathy.
She was prepared for motherhood but
little did she know the birth of her daughter Leila would end up
leading her to the love of her life, whom she married in a stunning
lace gown atop a cliff overlooking the ocean in December.
Mr Andersen proposed on what would have
been Louis’ birthday, a day Ms Hart normally spends reflecting on her
loss and the short time she had with her first two children, who
suffered from a condition that affects muscles used for movement and
occurs almost exclusively in boys.
‘He went out to get milk with Leila and
came back with an engagement ring, which was a real surprise because
usually I spent the anniversaries of their death and birthdays having a
quiet day,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Twelve months later and the pair
exchanged vows at a ‘very low key’ wedding in front of 130 of their
closest friends and family in Sorrento, Victoria.
‘It was utterly spectacular overlooking the sea, but it was blowing an absolute gale.'
‘I have quite a lot of dark curls and
Leila has her blonde curls so the wind just kept blowing our hair all
over our face which did not impress the photographer.
The pair exchanged vows at a ‘very low key’ wedding in front of 130 of their closest friends and family
‘It was utterly spectacular overlooking the sea, but it was blowing an absolute gale.'
Ms Hart got ready with her sister and Leila, who wore a white lace dress and floral crown
Despite
Leila and her father sharing a very close bond, Ms Hart said the
three-year-old was quite protective of her mother after learning of the
wedding and did not appear all that impressed with the impending
nuptials
Ms
Hart had endured the tragic loss of two sons, Marlon(left) and
Louis(right), to a genetic disorder called x-linked myotubular myopathy
before she decided to look for a sperm donor and have a child through
IVF
Ms Hart got ready with her sister and
Leila, who wore a white lace dress and floral crown, while Scott’s new
mother in law Helen and three sons - Luke, 22, Jye, 30 and Bailey, 18 -
helped him prepare for the big day.
‘Scott’s boy and his daughter Belle were really glad to know their dad had finally found happiness.’
Despite Leila and her father sharing a
very close bond, Ms Hart said the three-year-old was quite protective
of her mother after learning of the wedding and did not appear all that
impressed with the impending nuptials.
‘She wasn't interested at first and
kept saying ‘you can’t marry my mum’ but she ended up getting caught up
in it all and was the most divine little flower girl,’ Ms Hart said.
‘It really felt like the beginning of something incredibly beautiful. You could see the happiness and pure elation in the room’
‘She
wasn't interested at first and kept saying ‘you can’t marry my mum’
but she ended up getting caught up in it all and was the most divine
little flower girl,’ Ms Hart said
Ms Hart, who has endured unthinkable
tragedy, said she was so glad to be able to give her friends and
family, who have supported her unconditionally, a reason to celebrate.
‘It really felt like the beginning of something incredibly beautiful. You could see the happiness and pure elation in the room.’
‘The band knew how to work and audience and got everyone on to the dance floor – even Scott who is not one to dance,’ she added.
Ms Hart said it was incredibly special
to see her husband’s ten-year-old leading him around the dance floor
among their big, blended family.
Ms
Hart, who has endured unthinkable tragedy, said she was so glad to be
able to give her friends and family, who have supported her
unconditionally, a reason to celebrate
Ms Hart wore a floor-length, white lace wedding dress with a flower tucked into her flowing curls
Mr Anderson took time in his
‘emotional’ speech to make sure he thanked his mother-in-law, who was
the driving force behind the couple meeting after Leila was born in
2012.
‘My mum has been the wind in my sails
when I thought the boat was going to capsize and in the end she helped
bring me to Scott,‘ she said.
With football season starting around
the time of their wedding, Mr Anderson, a local coach, was needed back
at home so instead of a big honeymoon the couple spent a few
'beautiful' days together on the Murray River, and have planned a 'more
exotic' holiday at the end of the year.
Ms Hart, who 'doesn't really believe in
fate', said it was incredibly lucky to have found such a generous and
loving partner, especially one who loves Leila as much as she does.
‘Mr
Anderson took time in his ‘emotional’ speech to make sure he thanked
his mother-in-law Helen who was the driving force behind the couple
meeting after Leila was born in 2012
Ms Hart, who 'doesn't really believe
in fate', said it was incredibly lucky to have found such a generous
and loving partner, especially one who loves Leila as much as she does
‘It is incredibly random that two
people who wouldn't’ have met under different circumstances were
brought together through a child that was created through sperm
donation,' she said.
‘The attraction between us would have
been there if we had the chance to meet but when or where that would
have happened without Leila is a mystery.'
Ms Hart said once she had Leila she had six embryos left did try for another child but unfortunately none of them took.
'Scott had offered more sperm 'via a
turkey baster' and I kind of said yes but once we got together we saw
the happy family we had together and just felt so incredibly lucky to
have Leila.'
'She is such a happy kid and so full of life.'
Ms Hart said it was very important that
Leila knew her siblings and was elated to know she would that she
would frow up with a big family.
'Scott
had offered more sperm 'via a turkey baster' and I kind of said yes
but once we got together we saw the happy family we had together and
just felt so incredibly lucky to have Leila'
With
football season starting around the time of their wedding, Mr
Anderson, a local coach, was needed back at home so instead of a big
honeymoon the couple spent a few 'beautiful' days together on the
Murray River
Ms Hart said it was very important that Leila knew her siblings and was elated to know she would have a big, blended family
The doting mother said her journey to
Leila and her husband did not come without a few road bumps, but she
now see's that without the tragedy in her life she would never have
found them.
She recently took stock of her life,
tracing back to before she was born, to pen an emotional memoir, How I
Met Your Father, that she said is a tribute to her two son's Marlon and
Louis, who lost their lives at 14 weeks and 14 months respectively.
'I really wanted to expose my sons to a few more people and give their short lives a little bit more meaning,' she said.
She said most of her friends never had
the chance to meet her son Marlon, who only spent 13 days of his 14
week life out of hospital.
She recently took stock of her life, tracing back to before she was born, to pen an emotional memoir, How I Met Your Father
Ms Hart took her daughter Leila to meet her biological father shortly after her first birthday
'They were very sick little boys but
had very distinct personalties. They were human beings and I just
wanted to pay tribute to them because they are kind of how I got here.'
'I did set out to have a family the
conventional way and if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t have Leila or
Scott. I would have never been looking for a sperm donor or thought to
go through IVF to have a baby on my own.'
Her first son Marlon, conceived with
her former husband, died at the age of four months, while she was
living in England, and in 2010 when Ms Hart was living back in
Australia, Louis - fathered by a former partner - died at the age of 14
months.
‘You can’t really put it into words. I
had two relationships and two children but it wasn't until the second
one that I got a diagnosis of the genetic disorder,’ Ms Hart told Daily
Mail Australia.
At 42, Ms Hart felt like time was
running out but she was also faced with the prospect that the genetic
disorder has a 1 in 4 chance of occurring in every pregnancy so she
thought long and hard about her options and decided to use a sperm
donor to conceive.
Baby Leila was born on 14 August 2012, weighing a 'big and healthy' 3.9 kilos
Scott Andersen, Ms Hart Hart and their daughter Leila are now a family after an incredible first meeting
Ms
Hart's mother Helen had tracked down Leila's father on Google after
she found a photo of an amateur footy coach who had the same striking
blonde hair and blue eyes as Leila
She was given three pieces of paper by
the fertility clinic with the vital statistics of three anonymous men –
one of whom would become not only the biological father of her
daughter but her future partner.
When baby Leila was born on August 14,
2012, weighing a ‘big and healthy’ 3.9 kilos, Ms Hart said she felt
‘relieved’ but growing up without a father herself she had always
wanted her child's father to play some role in their life.
Ms Hart's mother Helen did some digging
and was able to find a picture of Mr Andersen online and encouraged
her daughter to get in contact with the clinic so they could pass on
her information in case he wanted to get in touch or see a photo of his
daughter.
On August 18, 2013, Ms Hart and Leila
drove an hour and a half from Melbourne to Mr Anderson's house near
Phillip Island, about 140 km south-southeast of Melbourne, where they
met not only him but two of his children.
‘It was much easier than I’d
anticipated. I was nervous … I was walking in to meet a complete
stranger and I had his genetic child in my arms,’ Ms Hart laughed.
There was an instant rapport between
the pair, with Ms Hart finding Scott ‘easygoing’ and ‘a bit of a
talker’. Some time later they started to feel a spark and eventually
confided in each other about their feelings.
On August 18, 2013, Ms Hart and Leila drove an hour and a half from
Melbourne to Mr Anderson's house near Phillip Island, about 140 km
south-southeast of Melbourne, where they met not only him but two of
his children
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