New Kids on the Block singer Jonathan Knight has opened up about the challenges he and husband Harley Rodriguez faced trying to become parents.
The longtime couple, who tied the knot last August, wanted to have a baby via a surrogate.
“We tried it. We went through the journey for about five years, and it just didn't happen for us,” Knight said during an appearance on the Frosted Tips with Lance Bass podcast.
The 54-year-old pop star said he and Rodriguez were on an emotional roller coaster.
“Going through the process, it’s like, 'Today's the day the eggs are being implanted and you're so excited, and you're so happy,” he said. “And then, you know, a week later it's like, ‘No, you're back to square one.’”
Jonathan Knight and Harley Rodriguez, pictured in 2018. Paul Marotta / Getty Images
Knight recalled a time when he didn't even know he could be a parent. "When Ricky Martin first had his twins – he wasn't out but there were rumours that he was gay – and I was like, 'Wait a minute, if he's gay how is he having these kids?'" Knight said his friends explained "you can go to an agency and you get a surrogate and you can get eggs donated' and all that stuff. It was like, OK this all makes sense."
The singer called the process of finding a surrogate “really weird” because “you’re looking at these women’s profiles and it says the age, their nationality, their medical history… you’ve never met them and you’re just, you know, ‘Could this be the mother of my child?’”
Knight told Bass that "95 percent" of the couple's gay friends have been able to have children.