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‘Too Hot to Handle' Star Francesca Farago Gives Birth to Twins With Fiancé Jesse Sullivan
When Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan say they always knew they wanted to grow a family together, they mean since their fourth date.
“We fell pretty hard pretty fast,” TikToker Jesse said on a March episode of Colton Underwood’s podcast Daddyhood. “But I remember we were driving, and it got brought up. And we started discussing it and how we would do it and what she would want and what I would want. We were making this whole life in that moment. And it’s funny because we did—almost three years later—almost exactly what we said then.”
Following the logistics they began plotting not long after they first connected over Zoom for TikTok's LGBTQ Trailblazers event in 2021, Jesse and his bride-to-be welcomed fraternal twins on Nov. 11.
"Baby boy was born at 7:31, and baby girl was born at 7:33,” the Too Hot to Handle alum announced on Snapchat. “They were perfect. So sweet, so cute."
But just because Jesse—who first became a parent as a teen when he welcomed now-16-year-old Arlo—and Francesca had a plan, that doesn’t mean their journey was easy.
Elyse Jankowski/Getty Images
Having dated long-distance, briefly split, and reconnected in 2022 after Francesca's run on Perfect Match, the pair announced their engagement in April 2023 and soon after shared they’d be postponing wedding planning while they focused on having a baby.
"We want a huge wedding, but I think it would be so cute if we had a little baby in our arms or two babies in our arms at the wedding," Francesca told Laverne Cox at E!’s 2024 People’s Choice Awards in February. "So, hopefully we can have a baby first and then do the big wedding after."
By that point, Jesse—who came out as transgender in 2019—and Francesca had already begun exploring in vitro fertilization (IVF), an experience they’d document on social media.
“We’re really excited to get it started and take you along with us because I know a lot of people don’t show this process,” Francesca said in a 2023 YouTube video with Jesse. “He was even trying to look up trans men who have done this, and it’s so hard and there’s not a lot of information out there. So, we got you guys.”
Jesse started the IVF process first, with his egg retrieval taking place on his 34th birthday in August 2023.
“He had eight eggs retrieved,” Francesca later shared on TikTok. “Out of the eight, five were turned into embryos and three survived. So we have three of Jesse’s embryos ready to go in the freezer.”
The following month, the Perfect Match star started her own round of IVF. As noted on social media, Francesca had about 50 eggs retrieved. However, she said on YouTube the number they sent for testing decreased because of her Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). After saving 11 eggs for possible future donations, she continued, they sent 25 of her eggs to be tested.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
“Eighteen came back good,” Francesca explained, “and then out of the 18 embryos, only eight came back transferable.”
The social media stars shared that Francesca would carry. And while the egg transfer was originally scheduled to take place in October 2023, she announced on TikTok it got delayed because she had a “bad reaction to the IVF.”
Weeks after that first February 2024 procedure, the couple informed their shared 7 million TikTok followers that the embryo transfer had failed.
“Even though there was never a pregnancy we’re still mourning that one baby girl embryo we lost,” Francesca wrote on TikTok. “IVF girlies you are all so strong. We hope next time is our time.”
And it was. After undergoing a second embryo transfer in March, Francesca announced she was pregnant.
“AHH IM PREGNANT,” she wrote on TikTok March 31, with her and Jesse revealing the news on Transgender Day of Visibility. “We wanted to take this special day to celebrate this amazing milestone with all of you. We’ve brought you with us through the loss, so we couldn’t wait to bring you along for the win. We are so excited to be growing our family with Arlo as the coolest older sibling!”
Francesca Farago/Instagram
Weeks later, Francesca and Jesse confirmed they had not one but two babies on the way.
“We’re having twins!” the 35-year-old wrote on his TikTok April 7. “We know it’s early but we’re preparing for the best.”
Over the next few months, they continued to keep their fans in the loop, posting videos of Francesca’s baby bump, ultrasounds, symptoms and even sharing name ideas for the twins. (On the discard pile: Afternoon, October, Traveler and Piano.) And Jesse—who carried and birthed Arlo as a teen—was by his love's side every step of the way.
"It's been a dream," Francesca told E! in June of her fiancé understanding everything she’s experiencing. "Because I'm just like, 'Is this normal?' 'OK, did you feel this?' He's like, 'Yeah.' And he's been through it, so he's been the most amazing support system."
She’s also grateful for the support from their social media community, including one follower in particular who gave her some advice.
"There's something wrong with my uterus and my cervix, and I would not have learned that if it wasn't for Snapchat," the 31-year-old continued. "Someone messaged me and said, 'Hey, I lost my twins at 21 weeks. You should go get your cervix checked.'"
So, Francesca did exactly that. "It opened up a whole world of anxiety and stress and doctor's appointments and specialists," she added, sharing she did have a short cervix. "But it also opened up, potentially, me being able to save the babies in the future, me avoiding a miscarriage."
And while Francesca admitted on TikTok she was “scared every single day that something is wrong with the pregnancy,” she also noted she’s the happiest she’s ever been. She and Jesse got to share that joy with family and friends when they hosted their baby shower in July, announcing they were expecting a son and a daughter.
After going on a babymoon to the mountains in September and finally moving into their home in October after a two-year renovation process, Francesca and Jesse nested as they waited for their little ones to arrive.
Snapchat/Francesca Farago
And just as how they kept fans updated throughout the pregnancy, they shared what the birth was like, with Francesca noting she underwent an emergency C-section and experienced the “worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life” when she had blood clots removed.
While Francesca and Jesse have yet to reveal the newborns’ names or full faces, they have offered some insight.
"I always had a thought that the girl was going to look exactly like me and the boy was going to look like you and Arlo," Francesca said on Snapchat. "They didn't. Right when they both came out, she looked like Arlo when Arlo was a baby and he looked like me. They both have really curly hair."
And as they navigate their new chapter as parents to twins, they know that—just like they have throughout their journey—they’ll do it together.
“I think we’ve gone through a lot of things in our relationship—from reality shows coming out, to long-distance, to breaking up, getting back together—and every time we’ve gone through something, it’s made us stronger,” Francesca said on the March episode of Daddyhood. “His IVF bonded us like crazy, my IVF bonded us like crazy. Even just the embryo transfer. We’ve been unbreakable, but it just solidifies our bond even more because you’re really there for your partner at their lowest of the low. And you go through kind of like the hardest things you’re ever going to go through together, and it really just makes you so much stronger.”
To see more of Jesse and Francesca’s road to twins, keep reading.
June 2021: First Meeting
Though Francesca Farago tried her luck with love on a few reality dating shows, including Too Hot to Handle, she met her perfect match in Jesse Sullivan while hosting an event online.
“TikTok hired me to host an event for Pride Month,” Francesca told Elite Daily in 2023. “It was over Zoom. It was a TikTok live event with Willow Smith and the app’s LGBTQ+ Trailblazers. I interviewed three people and Jesse was one of them. We met on Zoom and just fell in love very quickly.”
TikTok
Summer 2022: Social Media Official
And though her time on season one of Netflix’s Perfect Match (which aired in 2023) didn’t work out, Francesca knew that fate had bigger plans in store.
In fact, as the reality star shared in a TikTok, “Literally the minute I left that villa, I texted Jesse, and I was like, 'Hey, are you still single? I'm traumatized and do you want to hang out?'"
And the rest is history. Since then, the pair have shared insight into their romance on social media. “We’re just so in love, and I feel that’s obvious with what we post,” she told Elite Daily. “Some couples share a filtered version of the happy times, but they don’t post anything negative. We actually don’t have any negative times. It’s all positive.”
TikTok
May 2023: Engagement
Two years after they first met, Francesca and Jesse were ecstatic to start a brand new chapter together.
“WE’RE ENGAGED,” Francesca shared in a May 2023 Instagram post, “a glimpse into the most magical night ever, obsessed with our family… what is life!!” Fast forward to early 2024, and the couple made it clear that they were keen on starting a family, even before their nuptials.
"We want a huge wedding, but I think it would be so cute if we had a little baby in our arms or two babies in our arms at the wedding," Francesca exclusively told Live From E! host Laverne Cox at the People’s Choice Awards that February. "So, hopefully we can have a baby first and then do the wedding after."
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
March 2024: Baby (Soon-to-be) on Board
And as predicted, Francesca and Jesse—who is dad to teenager Arlo from a previous relationship—announced they were expanding their family.
"We wanted to take this special day to celebrate this amazing milestone with all of you," Francesca wrote on Instagram March 31. "We've brought you with us through the loss, so we couldn't wait to bring you along for the win. I am still pretty newly pregnant, and there's so much more to come, but we are so excited to be growing our family with Arlo as the coolest older sibling! AHH IM PREGNANT!"
As for Jesse, he was more than excited to share the news. "We're pregnant!" the influencer, who came out as transgender in 2019, captioned a clip. "Its been such a struggle to get here, but we felt like TDOV was the perfect day to let you all in on our celebration. Im so proud of @Francesca Farago for fighting her way to get here, and I fall more in love with her every day. Thank you for following our journey, and heres to more trans joy!"
Francesca Farago/Instagram
April 2024: Double the Love
A week after the pair confirmed Francesca is pregnant, Jesse shared they'll be adding not one but two more members to their family.
"We're having twins," Jesse wrote under his April 7 TikTok. "We know it's early but we're preparing for the best."
TikTok / Francesca Farago
July 2024: Baby Shower
While surrounded by their nearest and dearest, the couple revealed the twins' sexes— announcing a son and daughter were on the way.
Snapchat/Francesca Farago
November 2024: The Twins Are Born
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