Two dads, two children, a family

This article is published in issue 8 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until February 22, 2022

“We were in the car. Nicolò was on the phone, and at a certain point he asks: sorry, I didn’t understand, but so did we win? ». On the other hand there is the lawyer who reads the documents on the pc, but has Covid, he is feverish and his sad tone is not adequate to the news: the Nicolò Cerioni and Leandro Emede case is closed. Both are the fathers of their children: among the first in Italy.

“In reality we have been from the first day, many years ago, when I told Nicolò that I wanted children,” says Leandro, her husband. Together for fifteen years, the former is the one who creates the looks of many artists in the entertainment world, the latter is a photographer and director of campaigns and video clips. Two and a half years ago they had twins through gestation for others in California, a practice already prohibited in Italy for which the League has just presented a bill to increase the sentences of up to five years in prison. But let’s get back to that car.

How did you feel?
Leandro: «Very happy, it was a sheet we had been waiting for a long time».
Nicolò: «We wanted full rights for the children and both be recognized as fathers like in the United States».

When did you tell your parents they were going to be grandparents?
N: «I, practically, at the time of coming out“.

What do you mean?
N: «I was a boy, my family was quite open. No exaggerated reactions, but the things that are said in these cases: why didn’t you tell us before, and… I’m sorry we won’t have grandchildren ».
L: «Even my mother said“ but how! And the grandchildren? ”». They laugh.

And instead…
N: «Then I replied: never say never … Although obviously I had no idea what I was saying. Leandro, on the other hand, who has a very large family in Argentina and a part in Italy, was predestined to have children ».
L: “I have many brothers and many grandchildren, children have always been present in our house, also I have always thought that I would have children, it is not something that came out at a certain point here …”.
N: «A true Latin American dynasty».

It looks like a novel by García Márquez …
N: «But what a novel! A soap opera to the Topaz, full of dramas, betrayals … I was reluctant, because the work was starting to get going. And also scared. But then a series of unexpected things happened that greatly facilitated the path of fatherhood, which we began to inform ourselves about “.

In Italy, adoption is allowed only to heterosexual and married couples. If it had been possible, would you have considered it?
L: «I am Argentine and I also inquired to understand if it was possible to adopt there. It was, but you had to live in the country for a very long time, it was very complicated there too. If there had been the possibility in Italy we would certainly have taken it into consideration ».

What did you do instead?
N: We tried to figure out the safest route to the United States. We have read a lot and learned about the various options. We found ourselves in front of a universe of extraordinary and very normal family stories. Like ours. We froze our semen and thanks to the eggs of a donor we created the embryos. A series of special and wonderful people helped us along this path, professionals who help families ».

What happens next?
L: «It happens that one turns to specialized agencies in the search for a carrier. You must be a person with a job and economically autonomous, so that you are not doing it to support yourself, you are not doing it out of economic necessity. This is another very important note that must be underlined. Also, she doesn’t have to be in her first pregnancy. As soon as the carrier is identified, a meeting is made: it is the moment in which one must choose each other, or rather, she must choose the couple and the couple must choose her ».