David Arrick and Heidi Sadowsky both wanted children, but didn't want each other. Their solution was to have the child together and co-parent, without any romantic relationship.
The two had been friends for 20 years; Arrick is gay and Sadowsky never met a man she wanted to have children with, so they agreed on the partnership so they could each have a child of their own, without the need to find a romantic partner.
While their arrangement seems unusual to some, parenting website FamilybyDesign.com actually matches up people for parenting partnerships similar to Arrick and Sadowsky's. First profiled in a New York Times story last week, the website is one of a handful of controversial online services helping to connect people interested in finding partners to have children with, without any romantic attachments.
While critics have had harsh words for sites like FamilybyDesign, its founder Darren Spedale defended the approach Monday, telling TODAY there are plenty of loving single people in their thirties who are ready to have children and would make great parents, but don't want to have to wait to find a mate.
"If you can connect two people of that same mindset together and get them talking about the issues around parenting and take the time to build that relationship before they go down that path," he said, "that's going to be a really lucky child."
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