We have been a couple for 4 years and friends for 6 years. We met through Julien’s work as a plumber. Regine had just moved into a new apartment in a new city. It was autumn and her boiler was broken. She had other plumbing problems. Julien came several times to fix them. He was the coolest plumber she had ever met. Sometimes, love arrives when you least expect it. After two years of friendship, we realized that love had blossomed and we started dating: we like to say that we are a team.
Upbringing and Family :
About Regine (46) :
I was born on a beautiful small island in the French Caribbean called Martinique. I am the youngest in my family: I have two sisters and a brother, all of whom still live on my native island. I have two nephews and two nieces that I am very closed to. I was fortunate to receive a great deal of love from my family.
As a child, I loved planting tomatoes, lemons, and flowers in the garden. I was always trying new things to plant with the help of my mom. It gave me love of nature. I’ve stayed also close to my childhood friends.
In recent years, I lost my beloved mother (I put a photo of her when I was a kid). She instilled in me the values of kindness, respect, generosity, hard work, and mutual aid. As far as I can remember, there wasn’t a day without a laugh or a smile at home. And it’s still the case today with Julien. These are family values that I wish to pass on to our child. So, family is very important to me. It would be such a joy for all of us to have a new little member. Family is great support for me.
About Julien (45) :
I was born in a small town in the Val d’Oise near Paris. I have a brother and a sister. I have 11 nieces and nephews (my brother and my sister-in-law have 9 kids and are on a French TV show concerning big families ), and a little nephew of 2 years old who was born on the same day as me (fun facts !).
During my childhood, I moved around a lot with my mother, who ran a delivery company. My father worked in a car manufacturing plant. I can proudly say that my love for the automotive world comes from my wonderful father who unfortunately passed away in recent years (I posted a picture of us together). I was also very close to my paternal grandparents.
As teenager, I used to live in the countryside with my father. During that time, I enjoyed going for walks with my friends, laughing and enjoying teenage life. I started working as a plumbing apprentice at the age of 14 with my uncle. My family values are love, honesty, respect, and hard work.
I am very close to my family and love family gatherings. I particularly like the Christmas season and organizing the Christmas meal with the help of my eldest of my nieces is a family tradition.
Our Fertility Journey :
Our fertility journey began in 2022. Due to medical reasons related to fibroids, Regine cannot carry a child as she was diagnosed with Asherman’s syndrome. She had eight surgeries over 2 years. At the same time, she was doing IVF treatments. It was physically tough. One surgery had complications and led to her being hospitalized in the emergency room a few weeks later. She could not do any embryo transfer. Her surgeon explained that surrogacy was the solution for starting a family. Life has taught her to be optimistic, as she realizes it was a new hope given.
We have completed 4 rounds of IVF and currently have 3 PGT-A tested embryos at Tripod Fertility in Toronto. We would prefer a surrogate in Ontario but are open to working with a surrogate located elsewhere in Canada if it is compatible with our journey (not able to move embryos).
We are embarking on this journey with a very positive attitude. We are aware that an entire family in Canada will be mobilizing to help a small family come into being. We begin this journey with a spirit of gratitude and hope.
We will live with our child in a small village in the north of Paris and two hours from the sea. We are fortunate to have schools, colleges, and numerous universities, hospitals, stadiums nearby, as well as parks, rivers, castles… We will be able to raise our child in a culturally rich and green environment. Our home will be a love nest for our child, and we want to encourage our child’s interests and hobbies in the future. We will also have the support of family and friends.
Occupations, Interest and Hobbies :
Julien is a plumber and Regine is a lawyer. They both own their businesses and enjoy interacting with people. It’s important for Regine to sometimes work pro bono for charities that provide legal advice.
Julien is always available to help a neighbor or friend at any time of the day or night. He enjoys DIY projects. He is passionate about cars, model kits, and model cars. He is the athletic one in the couple, as he enjoys sports (running, swimming, jumping rope, camping in nature, etc.). He enjoys festivals where he can discover good food, house and reggae music. Finally, he loves old movies and TV series (Last Action Hero, Home Alone, Twins, Columbo, etc..).
Regine loves nature, sea, and birds such as hummingbirds. She loves all kinds of music. She likes reading, practices relaxation and meditation and does a little aquafit or gym. She has never been very good at sports, but she tries her best and loves the feeling of well-being that it provides. She loves watching soccer, athletics, and basketball. She likes cooking and traveling too. She loves going to the cinema to see action, suspense or adventure films like those from Marvel or DC Comics.
A bit about us :
We are lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of France near Paris (Val d’Oise). We love visiting parks, castles, gardens, or take a drive to the sea. We are food lovers. We enjoy simple things like watching movies, going to restaurants, and taking walks, but most of all we love laughing.
What you can expect from us :
We hope to be able to support you through all you could need to feel good during this journey, and are prepared to reimburse directly and promptly for your expenses. Be prepared to be cherished and pampered as we are aware of the sacrifice it means for a least a whole year for you and your family. Communication with trust, honesty and kindness will help us go smoothly through the joys and challenges involved in such a journey. Respect of privacy is a key point and we will respect your boundaries and what you prefer concerning the levels of communication. We are open to communicate through text messaging, video callings, phone calls and e-mails.
We agree that you talk about your journey in social media if our family privacy is protected, because we are not active on social media.
Even though we live far away, it will be important for us to keep connection through updates and hope you will become a « auntie from Canada » for our child and a special friend for us. We will always be grateful for your help in realizing our dream.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to read our story and for considering us a potential match. Our hearts are filled with gratitude.
With Love ❤️,