TV stars Arthur Gourounlian and Brian Dowling have said becoming fathers is a “dream come true”. 

The couple are famous for their professional lives but a documentary about their journey toward parenthood has aired on RTÉ. 

Baby Blake was born happy and healthy in September and the couple are besotted with their daughter. 

“It’s literally a dream come true,” Arthur told The Hard Shoulder. 

“I have waited for her as long as I can remember, honestly.” 

The couple were always family orientated and originally considered whether they should adopt to become parents.  

“Arthur wanted children and I was always about marriage and settling down that way,” Brian said. 

“Arthur was always pro-family - way before we got married. 

“We travelled a lot and lived in different countries - so it was trying to get what we wanted at the same time, on the same page. 

“That can be tricky because I was so hellbent on being in London and having a TV career and doing all that. 

“Then you put it off and you go, ‘Why did we?’ 

“All of my friends who have had planned pregnancies [and] some that weren’t planned, they’ve always said, ‘You’re never ready.’” 

'The Three Musketeers’

Ultimately, the couple decided to go down the surrogacy route and Brian’s sister, Aoife, was keen to become an aunt. 

The trio nicknamed themselves ‘The Three Musketeers’ and Brian describes Aoife as “just brilliant” throughout the entire process. 

“The day Blake was born, Aoife was the strongest out of all us and she was having a C-section - major surgery,” he said. 

“She was educating us on how we should be reacting.” 

Under Irish law, Aoife is still considered Blake’s mother but the couple hope to update her legal documents to “reflect Blake’s life and who her parents are”. 

The couple think she is about to start teething and consider themselves “really lucky” to be her parents.