The one thing Jeff and Mack Fernandez-Williams wanted more than anything was to become fathers.
It was 2014. Mack, a Filipino fresh-grad from Ilocos Norte, and Jeff, a retired American from Ohio, met through a now-defunct international gay website. Their connection was immediate and conversation flowed naturally, with their correspondence evolving from daily messages to hour-long Skype calls.
As early as their “talking stage,” Mack already expressed his desire to be a father one day. “I want to have kids. I don’t know how, but I want to have my own children.”
Little did Mack know that it was with Jeff that this dream would come true. At the time, gay marriage was not yet legal across the entire United States. Despite that, Jeff booked a flight to the Philippines after just one month to ask for the blessing of Mack’s parents to marry their son.
In 2015, the pair finally tied the knot in San Francisco, one of the few states where gay marriage was legal. After an intimate wedding, they would go on to spend three years working, traveling, and enjoying married life before having children.
