The Bachelor: Matty J and Laura Byrne tackle ‘gender disappointment’

Bachelor couple Matty Johnson and Laura Byrne are parents to two beautiful girls, Marlie-Mae and Lola.

But on Thursday, they spoke about the topic of ‘gender disappointment’ during an appearance on Channel Seven’s The Morning Show.

Laura and Matty said they’d chosen not to learn their children’s gender until the birth, so the arrival of their daughters was a surprise.

But after welcoming firstborn Marlie-Mae in 2019, the reality TV lovebirds did have slight hopes their second would be a boy.

‘When we had our second, I did think we were going to have a son,’ Matty said, adding that ‘everybody’ was telling them Lola would be a boy.

‘Laura even said, “This is definitely a boy.” There was a moment when I first saw our beautiful daughter Lola and I thought, “Oh, okay, it’s not a boy.”‘ 

The couple were discussing a viral video of a man who was clearly disappointed to find out his unborn child was a girl at a gender reveal party.  

Laura explained that ‘gender disappointment’ is very real, and she even knows parents who have gone through it.

‘I’ve had many conversations with girlfriends who, when they have found out the gender, it’s taken them a little bit of time to compartmentalise or accept the fact they are not going to be a mum to a boy or a girl,’ she said. 

Laura added that being surprised or disappointed by the gender of your child can lead to a ‘shift’ in some people’s identity. 

‘For some people it’s a real shift in their identity in who they think they are going to be,’ she said. ‘I guess there’s a part of me that always thought I would have little boys and I have little girls.’ 

Laura admitted that while had expected her second child would be a boy, she loves her daughters ‘very, very much’. 

‘[Gender disappointment] is a very real thing. I think a lot of people experience it. But no one wants to talk about it because you can’t be ungrateful,’ she concluded.