EXCLUSIVE
An Australian trader who fought to prevent his daughter from being adopted in the US has shared a heartwarming update as his little girl visits him for the first time in Australia.
Sydney carpenter Dan Gaut won hearts around the world in February when he joined in to raise funds to travel to the United States to pick up his newborn daughter.
His pregnant American girlfriend, Liv Pavlov, suddenly returned to the United States without him, where she rekindled a relationship with a former partner and later announced she would give the baby up for adoption.
Gaut begged her to give him the baby to raise in Australia, and she initially agreed, but gave up the offer once baby Ana Rose arrived in March, and the former couple agreed to share custody and raise their child. daughter in both countries.
On Thursday, Gaut revealed that his nine-month-old daughter had made her first trip to Australia to spend time with him.
“My heart is overflowing with the visit of my sweet angel,” she wrote on Instagram.
Gaut posted photos online showing the couple enjoying trips to the beach, rowing on a river, visiting national parks and playing with children’s toys.
Many fans and friends congratulated the proud father on his happy news.
Dan Gaut has reunited with his daughter as she makes her first trip to Australia.
Baby Ana Rose and her father are pictured playing with toys during their stay in Australia.
‘This warms my heart! “She is a spitting image of you,” one person wrote.
Another said: ‘I’m so happy you’ve reconnected with your mini; It’s adorable!’
‘I hope they share many more moments together… daughters need their dads!’
Gaut met his ex while on vacation in San Francisco in early 2023, before she followed him back to Australia and began their whirlwind romance.
But things changed when she became pregnant. Liv began to feel homesick and planned a quick trip to Texas to be with her support network.
However, she chose to remain in the US and told Mr. Gaut that she and her unborn baby would never return and that she wanted her son to be adopted at birth.
A crowdfunding page set up by Gaut’s friends raised more than $35,000 to help him travel to the United States to pick up his daughter after Pavlov agreed to legally surrender her if he flew to be with her during or shortly after. the birth.
But when he arrived, she changed her mind and decided she wanted to stay and raise baby Ana in the United States.
The couple have made the most of Australia’s beautiful beaches, rivers and national parks during their time together.
The happy dad posed with his little girl and his dog while they visited a nature reserve
The proud father recently took Ana to a park, where he helped the nine-month-old drink from a water fountain.
“I feel heartbroken and empty because I am forced to leave America alone,” Gaut revealed in an emotional Instagram post at the time.
However, speaking to Daily Mail Australia in April, Tavlov said he had only raised the idea of adoption because the couple could not agree on the future of their unborn child.
“A friend of mine had had an abortion and wanted nothing more than to be a mother,” Pavlov said at the time.
“At the time we weren’t on the same page about how to effectively raise her once she arrived, so I suggested that perhaps giving her to a loving family would be a better option.
“There was no formal investigation with the adoption agencies and we also did not reach an agreement for him to have exclusive custody rights.”
The saga came to a happy resolution just weeks after the birth, when the former couple after Pavlov revealed that he wanted Gaut to be an important part of Ana’s life and share custody of their daughter.
Gaut traveled to Austin, Texas, to meet newborn Ana Rose, but bringing her back to Australia didn’t go as planned. He appears in the photo with Mrs. Pavlov and Ana.
Since then, Pavlov (pictured) and Gaut have decided to share custody of their daughter, who will split her time between the United States and Australia.
“Well, the tides are always changing and I am happy to announce that baby Ana Rose is very loved by both her mom and dad Daniel Gaut,” Pavlov wrote on social media in April.
“After five weeks here in the United States, dad Daniel went home for a while while we regroup and work on our joint custody agreement so we can have fluidity in our lives in the next chapter.”