A young mom didn’t let her pregnancy stop her from finding love after her boyfriend dumped her months before her due date because he “suddenly decided” he didn’t wasn’t ready to have children.
Megan Dowling became single again just 19 weeks into her pregnancy, but decided to take to dating apps after realizing she “deserved love” as much as anyone else.
The 24-year-old, from Georgia in the US, admitted her dating tactics may have been “unconventional”, but she was inspired after watching a TV show about pregnant women dating and received compliments from men on Instagram.
After some research, Megan discovered that many moms-to-be were on the dating scene, so she decided to take the plunge and downloaded Hinge.
Megan Dowling, 24, didn’t let her pregnancy stop her from finding love online after her partner left her four months before her due date.
Megan’s partner left her when she was 19 weeks pregnant, but she bounced back after the break and wasted no time entering the dating scene.
“Your baby deserves a mother full of happiness and joy,” she said.
“Of course, be careful and make sure you always guard your heart and your peace – but just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it.”
Megan became pregnant by her ex-partner just nine months into their relationship and said she was “extremely heartbroken” when their relationship ended, but has since recovered.
“Luckily I have a great support system that lifted me up and I was able to get through it quickly,” she said.
“I’ve always been one to not stress about things I can’t control. I always contact my ex and let him know about my pregnancy.”
Megan said she was sadder to bring a baby into a “broken home” than to see the relationship break down.
The 24-year-old, from Georgia in the US, said although her dating tactics were “unconventional”, she “deserved to be loved” just as much as anyone else.
Megan gave birth to her daughter, Meadow, on September 27 and while the child’s biological father may not be around to support her, she may soon have a stepfather.
Seven months into her pregnancy, Megan met a man on Hinge who rushed to be by her side the day after Meadow was born.
Megan said the 43-year-old was “extremely supportive” of her and they would take their relationship day by day as she navigated life as a new mum.
“I never imagined I could find such a genuine person in my situation. He helped me so much and made me feel loved,” she said.
“I don’t want to force him to take care of someone else’s child, but he also knows that comes from dating me.”
Her new boyfriend has children of his own, so he understands how difficult pregnancy and motherhood can be, according to Megan.
“He constantly reassures me that everything will be OK, which is nice to hear when it sometimes feels like that’s not the case,” she said.
“He never lets me open a door, he cooks several nights a week, checks on me when he sees I’m uncomfortable and currently brings me breakfast at the hospital because it’s late.”
Megan said she hopes her story will inspire other single pregnant women like the ones she found inspired.
“My dating profile looked like any other! I had photos of myself, updated of course, but just selfies,” she said.
“The only difference is that I indicated that I had children when I am certainly very pregnant.”
Megan gave birth to her daughter on September 27, and while the child’s biological father may not be around to support her, she might have a stepfather once she finds a new man.
The topic of expectant mothers using dating apps has divided hundreds of people and caused a sensation online.
Some thought it was “inappropriate” for women about to give birth to engage in dating and that they would “stay away.”
“For a relationship?” It’s cheesy and gives you insight into who they are,” one Reddit user said.
One man said he would never date someone who was pregnant or had children: ‘When I was dating online I would hide people with children in the search filters and if they were pregnant I would just swipe quickly to the left.”
However, most were on board with the idea, with one saying: “I can’t get her pregnant again, 10/10 would be great.” »
“Everyone needs love, who cares? If you don’t like it, don’t swipe,” someone added.
“Some people weren’t in a relationship to begin with, it could have been an unintended pregnancy and the other party is not involved or maybe they are planning to co-parent but are not in a relationship . Same situation with breakups,” another chimed in.
“Some people want children and are okay with doing it alone, and don’t want to wait until a relationship gets to that point. There are many reasons to get pregnant on a dating app,” they continued.
One woman said she divorced her husband while she was pregnant and didn’t wait too long to return to the apps.
“I waited six weeks after giving birth to start Tinder, but I completely understood why someone would start it sooner.” Pregnancy hormones definitely impact libido,” she said.
