HGTV Favorite Welcomes First Baby With Husband via Surrogate: Congrats to Brian Patrick Flynn

Brian Patrick Flynn, 47, known as the HGTV Dream Home Designer, welcomed his first child with husband Hollis Smith, who was born via surrogate. The couple announced the news on Instagram on Thursday, April 18. The couple shared a black-and-white video documenting the birth of their daughter Clover on their Instagrams.

“THE STORY OF CLOVER: Part One,” Flynn wrote in the caption. Flynn and his spouse accompany their surrogate to the hospital during the footage. Afterward, Clover’s tiny footprints are captured, and Flynn cradles her close for a tender moment.

Flynn and Smith first announced in February that they would be welcoming a baby girl. “Currently entering our Dads Era. Baby Flynnsmith coming this Spring,” the couple captioned the Reel.

In the video, Flynn and Smith prepare their little girl’s space and reflect on family photos. In the montage, the couple examines a sonogram photo and video and brings a crib into the nursery, as well as toys, including a wooden block board depicting the name Clover for their daughter.

After dating for 12 years, the couple married on an icy outcropping in Antarctica in March 2018. “We’ve been together for 18 years and we’ve done really epic things together,” Flynn told People, describing how they both enjoy doing “really unique” activities and that having a baby was “always on the table.” In 2021, they began the process of growing their family with friend Taylor Frey’s surrogacy agency Elevate, which “specifically caters to same-sex families or single same-sex people in the LGBT community,” Flynn said.

“Magically our surrogate Marissa, who lives in the Midwest in the States, which is an hour and 20-minute flight from us, was like that couple’s perfect,” he explained. “She chose us. It was so magical and it was just totally meant to be. It turns out she’s also a graphic designer, which is the type of person I work with all the time in my career, Hollis as well.”

“The whole story is just total magic because now she’s absolutely a forever family member. So is her husband and so are her kids. They will be Uncle Nathan and Aunt Marissa and her kids will basically be cousins to our kid,” he added.

With only six weeks to go until their daughter’s birth, Flynn had been renovating and babyproofing the couple’s home. “My favorite thing in the entire world is an all-white house,” he said. “And that might not be the smartest choice for somebody who’s about to have a little one who’s going to have sticky fingers and lots of food.”

“The hardest thing is finding something that is super comfortable but also pretty and durable,” he said. “And I’ve noticed my whole life, I love the beautiful, uncomfortable furniture because I never sit down, I never nest. But what’s going to happen now is Hollis and I are going to be laying down, napping, rocking, cradling.”