“Love Is Blind”'s Tyler Speaks Out About Sperm Donor Situation, Says His Kids 'Did Not Sign Up for This'
"I played a part that became very shaky with a friend. There's no rule books to this... but I do want to let people know Ashley knows all this," Tyler Francis said at the season 7 reunion on Oct. 30
Warning: this post contains spoilers from the Love Is Blind season 7 reunion.
After weeks of online bombshells and speculation, Love Is Blind star Tyler Francis is setting the record straight about his sperm donor situation and biological children.
During the season 7 reunion on Wednesday, Oct. 30, Tyler opened up for the first time about serving as a sperm donor for his friend since revealing the news to his now-wife Ashley Adionser in episode 9.
"Those kids, that family, they did not sign up for this," he said. "Things that shouldn't be happening are now happening."
As fans may recall, Tyler, 34, informed Ashley, 32, after they got engaged that he was a sperm donor for a close friend and her wife, and had three biological children as a result. At the time, Tyler insisted he did not have much of a relationship with the children and they didn't even know what he looked like.
However, it was later leaked on social media that Tyler had more of a relationship than he was letting on to, as photos of him and the kids spending Christmas morning in matching pajamas circulated on the internet along with allegations that he owed money in child support and abandoned his children to be on the show.
At the reunion, Tyler set the record straight, saying he did "help a friend and her wife start a family," but the wife eventually left his friend, so he "voluntarily" stepped in to help with the children.
"There's pictures of me around," he acknowledged. "I played a part that became very shaky with a friend. There's no rule books to this... but I do want to let people know Ashley knows all this. This is news to the world, this has never been news to us."
Tyler added that he was giving the explanation because "the world is waiting for it," but noted, "I don't owe anyone an explanation but my wife... I'm good, we're good, and I'm not gonna keep harping on it."
For her part, Ashley slammed people who thought she was completely unaware of the situation and clarified that Tyler never wanted to discuss the topic on camera.
"Who do you think has better insight on what's going on? Social media or me? For people to imply that she was blindsided, she didn't know, is insulting to my intelligence," she said. "For the record, this is something he never wanted to share on camera. I just didn't feel like it would be an authentic experience or I could continue ... if we didn't [discuss this.]"
She continued to say that they did end up talking about on camera in "some capacity" so that there wasn't a "disconnect" with loved ones and viewers, but "there were things he was comfortable sharing and things he wasn't."
Ashley even pointed out that Tyler knowingly lied on camera about his kids not knowing what he looked like, and joked about how it was very obvious in that scene.
"You could tell... so of course, he divulged that information to me [beforehand]," she emphasized. "With him growing up in a single parent household... it was very hard for him to remove himself [from this situation] and not be involved when this is now a single mom."
"I know he is a good person who went in a little too deep and didn't know what to do next," she said.
Tyler chimed in: "This is not a game, this is 'til death do us part, and we mean it."
Though there were allegations that Tyler owed money in child support and he abandoned his children to be on the show, the reality star did not address those at the reunion as it was filmed before those claims surfaced online.
Despite everything, Ashley said they're still happily married. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love and it's worth risking anything," she said of her husband. "It's worth it all."
Added Tyler: "There has never been a day that she hasn't said 'I love you.' ... I've never experienced unconditional love to this extent... it's the first time in my life experiencing this."
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Love Is Blind season 7 is now streaming in full on Netflix.