Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, are officially parents!
Pete shared the joyous news on social media on Saturday. In a sweet post, he shared an image of him and Chasten, each holding a baby! “We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family,” Pete wrote on Instagram.
The news makes Pete the first openly gay cabinet secretary to become a parent while in office. Not only is the news wonderful for the couple, it will absolutely help pave the way for other gay politicians to be open about their sexuality and their journeys to parenthood.
In the adorable image Pete shared, he and Chasten look over the moon. They appear to be seated on a hospital bed and are each holding a baby bundle, staring lovingly at one another. It's an image they will undoubtedly treasure forever.
While Chasten and Pete had talked openly before about wanting to start a family, the couple revealed last month on social media that it was finally happening. Pete wrote, "For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family. We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents!"
Chasten had also recently opened up to USA Today about starting a family through adoption.
“We have quite a few friends in our circle who’ve navigated that, so we’ve just been having a lot of conversations with friends and started trying to figure out what will work for us,” he told the outlet.
Annise Parker, president of the Victory Institute, an organization that helps prepare LGBTQ people to run for political office, spoke about why their parenting journey matters.
“As parents, they will now shine a national spotlight on L.G.B.T.Q. families, who often face daunting challenges because of outdated policies that narrowly define what families are,” she said in a statement.
Pete and Chasten have already broken barriers for politicians. Not only was Pete the first openly gay man to run for president, he also didn't shy away from talking about the issue. Chasten was often spotted with him on the campaign trail, and they weren't shy about being affectionate toward one another.
Pete often shares images of his husband, whom he married in 2018, on social media, too. For the pair, normalizing their relationship is hugely important. Now that they have two sweet babies, it's not unlikely that we will hear a lot more about their road to becoming parents in an effort to normalize gay men becoming dads.
Sadly, Pete's own father died at 71, just six months after he and Chasten were married. After his father's death, Pete wrote, “We miss him already but his love of life, and his moral passion, will stay with us forever.”
While Pete's dad didn't get to watch his son become a father, Pete is likely embracing the lessons his dad taught him now more than ever.
