This is the kind of love story you honestly couldn’t make up.
Back in 1994, Aaron Long was broke, back living with his mum, and patching together work driving cabs and playing music. Then he spotted an ad for a sperm bank. Twice a week, he started donating — never imagining what it might mean years down the line.
Fast forward to Christmas 2016. Jessica’s daughter Alice, then 11, asked for a DNA test kit as a present. She wasn’t expecting much — just a bit of ancestry info. Instead, it matched her to Aaron as her biological father.
The test also revealed a handful of half-siblings, including Bryce, making Alice one of at least eight kids born from Aaron’s donations.
A “Meet My Kids” Party That Changed Everything
By 2017, Aaron decided to do something bold — he hosted a “Meet My Kids” party. His friends were stunned. As far as they knew, Aaron didn’t have kids at all.
Alice and a few of her half-siblings showed up, along with their families. Everyone had a blast. But there was one connection nobody saw coming.
Alice’s mum, Jessica Share, came along too. And when she met Aaron face to face, the pair immediately hit it off.
“We were fascinated by our situation,” Aaron explained later. “We just went down the rabbit hole of our unique situation and really bonded.”
Jessica later said it felt like Aaron was already family, like she’d been living with his traits for years.
From Donor To Boyfriend
Not long after, Jessica and Alice moved into Aaron’s co-op housing. It wasn’t your typical family setup — Aaron and his elderly mother had one unit, Jessica and Alice another. Even some of Alice’s half-siblings drifted in and out.
“We were all one family, kind of,” Aaron recalled. “And it was really fun.”
Before long, the pair officially became a couple. Their unusual romance hit headlines worldwide. Aaron even wrote a Modern Love essay for the New York Times titled: “First I Met My Children, Then My Girlfriend. They’re Related.”
Jessica shared her side with the BBC in a piece called: “I Met My Boyfriend 12 Years After Giving Birth to His Child.”
A Complicated Family Tree
Of course, the story isn’t without its complications.
When Jessica first used Aaron’s sperm, she was married to another woman. That partner also conceived a daughter using Aaron’s sperm. But when the girls were still toddlers, Jessica’s wife left — taking the younger daughter with her. Neither Jessica nor Alice have had contact with her since.
So when Alice got her DNA test a year later, she wasn’t really looking for a donor dad or siblings — she just wanted answers about her heritage. Instead, she ended up with a mum who fell in love with her biological father.
Alice never really saw Aaron as a dad. She calls him “Aaron,” describes him as her mum’s boyfriend, and sometimes gets annoyed when people insist on calling her “his daughter.”
“I’m more like a positive adult role model,” Aaron admits. “She is definitely family, but she already had her parents.”
That said, some of Aaron’s other donor-conceived kids do call him “dad.” Every relationship looks different.
Still Together Six Years Later
Six years on, Jessica and Aaron are still together, now living in their own home. Alice has grown up and gone off to university.
Aaron keeps a spreadsheet of his donor offspring — 21 children across 13 families. He’s had varying levels of contact with them: some friendships, some brief chats, and in at least one case, a clear “not interested.”
He knows Alice best, of course. And then there’s Madi, who lived with them for a while, and Emily, who lives nearby.
For Aaron, it’s a strange but meaningful role: not quite dad, not quite stranger. Somewhere in between.
But in the middle of all this, something rare and unexpected happened — a donor and recipient who were never supposed to meet ended up falling in love.
And six years later, it seems the story’s still going strong. ❤️
Featured image credit: Aaron Long / Jessica Share
