Tan France Speaks On 'Most Beautiful' And 'Most Difficult' Period Of His Life

Fashion designer and tv personality Tan France has conquered fatherhood and is ready to have another go at it. The father of one welcomed his first child with his husband, Rob France, via surrogate. While announcing the news, he revealed that his son was born premature and had to stay in the intensive care unit for a while.

While talking to a news outlet, Tan admitted that the first four months after bringing his son home from the hospital were really difficult. They also helped the fashion guru know what adjustments to make to take care of another baby with ease.

The 39-year-old revealed that he and Rob plan to have a second child in the next two years. He also mentioned that they were currently building a home in Salt Lake City which would serve as a Community School for their child, Ismail, and their friends' children.

Tan recently revealed that he was all set for another child after welcoming his first Ismail in July last year. In a recent interview with Insider, the "Queer Eye" star talked about a wide range of topics, including his and his husband Rob's intention to have a second child in the next two years.

The duo welcomed their first child last year through a surrogate. While they were happy with the outcome, Tan revealed that the process was not an easy one. Using a surrogate in the first place was expensive, and then when Ismail arrived, he was seven weeks early, and the first three weeks of his life were spent in an intensive care unit.

Despite that, the couple has no plans of keeping their family a family of three. They decided that they would include some structural changes to their lives to make the process easier than last time. He said, "With the job that I have and my husband's a full-time artist, we needed help. We should have done that sooner."

Tan also shed some light on the months after Ismail was brought home. According to the fashion guru, he and Rob didn't have any external help with the child care for the first four months after bringing their son home.

He described the period as one of the most beautiful but also the "most difficult" periods of his life. The couple eventually hired a night nurse who stayed on for almost two months and helped sleep train their son. They currently have a part-time nanny who Tan said is a lifesaver and is seen as a part of their family.

Tan further mentioned their intention to build a new home that would house a schoolroom. The building is currently being constructed in Salt Lake City and, according to the 39-year-old fashion guru, would host a community school. The school would cater to the studies of their friends' children and homeschool their son Ismail.

Tan revealed that the decision to open a Community School in his home was motivated by the recent mass shooting incident in Uvalde, Texas, which left around 19 children dead, along with two adults.

Tan admitted that he was horrified by the action, which seemed to be a new trend, and being born and raised in South Yorkshire, England, he wasn't used to it. He said, "I don't know if it's happened in my lifetime, a school shooting in England, so for me, it's completely shocking."

The "Next in Fashion" co-host continued, "Yes, I've lived here for almost 15 years, but I'm still shocked that this has been allowed to keep happening. So those were the main conversations I would have with Rob: How do we keep our children safe?"

Tan welcomed his first child with Rob on Saturday, July 10, 2021. The 39-year-old announced the news via his Instagram and posted a picture of the family of three. The post was captioned, "Give our son a warm welcome. Ismail France born July 10th. He came seven weeks early, so he's been in the NICU for the past three weeks. But today, we finally got to bring him home. We love him so, so much. Like, fully obsessed."

Tan then revealed that the surrogate was doing well after the birth, and they were incredibly grateful for what he called "the greatest gift of our lives." He previously announced the pregnancy in April 2021 by posting a picture of himself with an ultrasound photo over his stomach.

In a 2019 interview with NPR, Tan talked about how much he wanted to have kids, revealing that the desire dated as far back as when he was 19 years old. "I've wanted children since I was 19, 20," he said. "If I had had a stable relationship at that time, I would have desperately tried to have children."