People mistakenly think we are twins or mother and daughter – this is

Sister or Madam?

A married couple are proud to be expecting their first child, but people still often mistake them for twins – which is why they’re still fighting for LGBTQ+ recognition.

Whitney, 37, and Megan Bacon-Evans, 38, first connected on MySpace as teenagers back in 2006. While Whitney, who is from Kentucky, was studying abroad in London, they chatted online for two years before finally being able to meet in person.

“As soon as our eyes met, I knew she was the one,” Meghan told Jam Press.

They officially became a couple two weeks later and have been that way since that day. But that hasn’t stopped people from questioning their relationship.

“We are often mistaken for sisters, twins, and worst of all – mother and daughter,” Whitney shared. “We hear this all the time, both in person and online.

“We think people are naturally curious because they feel a deep connection between us and want to know about that connection.”

But she said most people thought they were not a couple at all.

“We kindly corrected them and said we were married and had been together for 16 years,” Whitney said. “We hope that by correcting them, they will learn about lesbian couples and never assume anything.”

She added that it was “pretty awkward” to tell people that someone they thought was her sister or mother was actually her wife, but the couple had been through too much together to share their love publicly.

After officially becoming a couple in 2008, the pair spent four years in a long-distance relationship until Whitney moved to the UK in 2012, which they celebrated by entering into a civil partnership as same-sex marriage was not yet legal at the time.

In 2017, they “upgraded” their marriage in the United States and decided to start trying to have a baby in 2020.

Meghan said: “We were so excited to finally embark on the journey of becoming two mums, but we also didn’t really know what it would entail due to the lack of representation.”

“There is such a lack of information about how LGBTQ+ couples start a family. We didn’t even know where to start with our baby journey, and neither did our baby. [doctor]”.

After two years of research and preparation, the women began their intrauterine insemination (IUI) journey and were delighted to learn that Meghan was pregnant from the first round.

But their joy did not last long.

“Unfortunately, it turned out to be a chemical pregnancy and a few weeks later, Meghan was sadly no longer pregnant,” Whitney shared.

The women endured two more heartbreaking rounds of unsuccessful treatments before turning to IVF. The second round of IVF was successful.

“We’re all so excited,” Whitney exclaimed. “Knowing that we will be able to see our children in May is the most amazing feeling.

“We can’t wait to become mummies and expand our family. We just found out we’re having a girl, which is so exciting!”

Although their journey was successful, they didn’t stop fighting to make it easier.

“Throughout our baby journey, we were shocked to discover the barriers and discrimination that prevent same-sex female couples from starting families,” Meghan said, adding that these issues can also affect anyone with a uterus.

The British couple spent nearly $50,000 on their entire pregnancy and don’t want others to face the “unfair financial burden” – the “gay tax” created – that many LGBTQ+ and single women face when welcoming their children Faced with this burden.

That’s why they addressed these issues in the UK Parliament’s LGBT+ Committee inquiry report last year.

In 2022, the UK government announced that, as part of its Women’s Healthcare Strategy, they planned to remove additional barriers to fertility treatment for same-sex female couples in the publicly funded healthcare system, but this is not yet complete.