Michael Stribling and Brian Ritter with daughter Ella.Photo: Courtesy of Michael Stribling
At first, the couple looked into a fostering to adopt program, but Stribling tells PEOPLE they both realized they “weren’t prepared” for the emotional rollercoaster that might come along with that process.
And while they’d talked to some adoption agencies, they “got a lot of shutdowns” from those that only wanted to work with same-sex families.
Brian Ritter and Michael Stribling at their wedding.Talitha A Tarro Photography
But right before Christmas in 2020, Stribling had a chance encounter at the hair salon he owned with a woman who worked atFamily to Family Adoptions, Inc.,a private agency. (Stribling, who owned a large interior design firm, Michael Stribling Interiors, decided to take “a life break” after “being overworked and burnt out,” and in the process stumbled upon a career he loved doing hair.)
Much to his surprise, after he asked if they ever worked with gay couples, she replied that they did — and were actually the first agency in the state to advertise inThe Advocate.
“It was so incredible,” he says.
“They were very supportive, very, very open,” Ritter, the executive director ofMercury Chamber Orchestra, previously toldGood Morning America.
By February, the couple had signed their contracts to work with the agency. Then, the waiting really began.
“It’s a journey,” Stribling tells PEOPLE. “Some birth mothers were not right for us. Some birth mothers, we weren’t right for them.”
When they did finally get the opportunity to meet with a birth mother, they learned she actually wanted to meet with two families — and when she canceled on their original appointment, they thought that meant she’d already made up her mind.
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“She walked into the room and my mouth dropped,” he says. “She looked identical to my cousin.”
Michael Stribling and Brian Ritter waiting for Ella’s arrival.Courtesy of Michael Stribling
The couple then just had three weeks until Ella’s arrival, and while waiting was “brutal,” meeting their daughter was “one of the most magical moments.”
“We joke and we say, we thought our wedding was just the crème de la crème,” Stribling says. “But man, this moment of just meeting her was just phenomenal.”
And when it came time to choose her name, the couple paid homage to a “group of very strong and independent women” in their life.
“My mother, and Brian’s sister, Brian’s grandmother, Brian’s cousin… everybody has the middle name Marie,” he explains. “And Ella was my grandmother’s name.”
Brian Ritter and Michael Stribling’s first photo with daughter Ella.Courtesy of Michael Stribling
“We got on TikTok literally just to post videos for our family,” he says. “We just are having fun, and we’re just enjoying sharing our life with the world.”
“If we can literally give hope to other gay men or women who are wanting to go through this process and feel defeated … Man, we’re doing something right then,” he adds.
Ella in her bedroom.A Little Joy Photography
Stribling, who took a step back from doing hair after Ella was born, is also helping others on the journey to parenthood as the Board President of Family to Family Adoptions.
“I’m really able to help other families get through this journey,” he says.
Brian Ritter and Michael Stribling with daughter Ella.Crown Images
Now the proud parents are on the brink of a very important milestone: their daughter’s first birthday.
“Brian and I are not capable of doing things small,” Stribling says, explaining that what started as a “small, little house party” has “turned into an event.”
“I’ve been planning her birthday for the past two months, just every little detail,” he says, which includes linens, balloons, and of course, a separate cake for the birthday girl.
Photos taken to celebrate Ella’s first birthday.A Little Joy Photography
Ultimately, he says the day is about celebrating all of the people “who went through this journey with us.”
“We had this group of people that rallied behind us,” he adds. “And this party is not just for Ella, it’s for everyone.”
source: people.com
