TOM-SAINSBURY 'BECOMING A DAD WAS BONKERS!'

The comedian opens up about fatherhood, his new film and an awkward encounter with Katy Perry

- Leena Tailor

Six years on from becoming a sperm donor, Tom Sainsbury relishes his uncle-style role to a six-year-old girl and five-year-old boy. But while the Kiwi comedian sees no resemblance when people say the kids look like him, there are some traits he can’t deny are his DNA.

“The eldest is a real performer, so I wonder where that came from!” laughs Tom, 41, who donated to help a lesbian couple start a family. “She recently did her first dance performance, which was so beautiful to watch. And the boy loves chocolate and chips, so I wonder where that came from too! He’s just had his fifth birthday and is starting school. These are huge life things I get to watch and enjoy.”

The kids introduce Tom to new people as “my donor”, which isn’t a family dynamic the Snapchat sensation envisioned growing up in a traditional family in Matamata. It wasn’t until a Friends storyline involved a sperm donor that Tom realised the possibility, but fatherhood seemed far-fetched as he came to terms with his sexuality.

Coming out to his parents via email in his twenties, they were “wonderfully supportive”, says the Snack Masters NZ host and former Shortland Street actor. “They had grandchildren through my siblings, so the pressure was off !”