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9th July 2024
03:05pm BST
TV presenter Brian Dowling has opened up about the 'heavy and dark' online abuse he has faced since becoming a father.
During an interview on Doireann Garrihy's podcast, the now dad-of-two got honest about the immense trolling he has faced since becoming a father.
Brian explained that he has found it incredibly difficult, but noted that 90% of the response he gets online is positive.
He told Doireann, "I find if I don’t laugh at it, I’ll cry, but I cried so much over the years…
"I don’t wanna cry anymore, I want to laugh," he shared.
Speaking about his decision to start a family with husband Arthur, Brian admitted a lot of the abuse started because they went down the surrogacy route.
"The amount of messages we would get from people and would say to me, we used a sperm donor and no one knows, or how some people had kids through surrogacy," he explained.
The presenter said that surrogacy is for anyone who can access it and stressed that it isn't a "gay issue".
"I always think people think surrogacy is a gay issue, it’s not a gay issue, it’s a family issue, you have heterosexual couples who go through it, you have gay couples, women alone who go through it.
"It was only when I decided I wanted to have a family. ‘No, I am not allowed; I gotta stay in my box,'" he pointed out.
Despite dealing with trolls and horrendous comments on the daily, Dowling remained positive and said he focuses on his kid and loving supporters.
"There is so much love, respect, and support…But sometimes the 10 percent can be really heavy and dark," he admitted.
Last month, Dowling and husband Arthur welcomed their second child together. They are now parents to two daughters- Blake and Blu.
