SO PROUD TO BE A MOM

The Bolds’ dream of becoming parents has come true – despite the obstacles faced by Ryanne, who used to be a man.

- GABISILE NGCOBO

THE couple are the picture of proud, protective parents as they fuss over their tiny tot in the garden, smooth­ ing her wispy hair off her forehead and adjusting her little summer dress.

“It’s been good so far,” Ryanne Bold (26) says of motherhood. “A few sleepless nights but she’s a good baby.”

For Ryanne, having a baby means so much – another milestone on a journey that’s brought angst and heartache but also so much joy and contentment. We first met a little more than a year ago when she opened up about tran­sitioning to become a woman – it had been a bumpy road, she told us (YOU, 15 November 2018).

Assigned male at birth, she spent her childhood as Ryan but she always felt she was trapped in the wrong body. She was bullied mercilessly at school for being “different” and her parents eventually took her out of school and educated her at home.

When Ryanne was 22, she spent R300 000 from her own pocket on gender­reassign­ment surgery. In 2016 she met and fell in love with Jonathan. They married in November that year, settled into their home in Boksburg, Gauteng, then start­ ed dreaming of having a baby to com­plete their little family.

Now their dream has come true – al­ though it hasn’t been without challenges.

“The first option was surrogacy,” says Jonathan (28), who has a security sys­tems business.

But after doing research they found it too expensive. They also feared the pro­ cess might be too much of an emotional roller coaster.

“I’d started making peace with the fact that we weren’t going to have kids,” Ryanne says.

But the longing proved too great. The couple decided to go the adoption route in September 2018.

They went through the screening pro­ cess and were approved in April the next year.