Viral photo of 'pregnant' man has really touching story behind it

After a Kentucky couple suffered two heartbreaking miscarriages, they’re now spreading joy on the internet with their hilarious and mind-bending maternity photo shoot.

Iana Thomas and her partner, who are having a baby boy in December, posed together behind a tree, creating an optical illusion that makes it seem as if it’s the father-to-be with a baby bump.

“This photo really explains us well,” Thomas shares with Yahoo Lifestyle. “Not only for the sense of him ‘stepping in my shoes’ but the humor behind it. He’s always been my ‘goofball.’ That picture, in particular, spoke volumes to us and his personality.”

Robert Morton, 29, the photographer, collaborated with the expecting parents on the concept. “A common saying for most couples is ‘We’re pregnant.’ Of course, it’s just figuratively speaking, but how would it look if [they both] really were pregnant?” he says. “That was the inspiration for the photo.”

They also wanted the image to have an important meaning for their community. “A lot of African-American men aren’t in their children’s lives nowadays, and with this picture we wanted to show things from a different perspective,” Morton adds.

Since the image was shared, it’s gotten a lot of attention.

“We were at the shoot and said the exact words, ‘What if this goes viral?’ And it actually did! It was like something we had spoken into existence, it’s so real,” says Thomas. “A lot of the people took a negative approach to the photo at first and didn’t understand the humor, art, and concept behind it, but we love it, and ultimately that’s all that matters.”

While the deceptive photo is definitely funny, the rest of the images from the series speak to more solemn times.

“We became pregnant two months before this pregnancy and lost the baby. It was the second miscarriage we had suffered due to unknown reasons,” Thomas says. “Two months later we found out we were pregnant with our rainbow baby. They say after every storm there’s a rainbow of hope.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Teen’s version of a message in a bottle is answered 6 years later

• Roommates’s holiday card nod to Death Row Records goes viral

• Viral tweet compares love to the feeling you get when you realize your dress has pockets

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