On a day shaped by paperwork instead of the joy they expected, Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby are now asking the UK to rethink how it defines parenthood. The couple welcomed their baby girl, Leven, surrogacy in January, but in the UK they still face a lengthy court process before being recognised as her legal parents.
What is driving Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby’s petition?
The petition launched by Adam Frisby and Jamie Corbett has gathered more than 80, 000 signatures in under 24 hours, and later reached 94, 692 signatures, putting it close to the 100, 000 mark at which the Government must respond. Their argument is direct: the law should reflect how families are formed today.
Frisby, the founder of In The Style, said that when their daughter was born, they became dads immediately in their lives, even if the legal system did not recognise that reality in the same way. He said current rules still automatically name the surrogate as the legal mother, and if she is married, her spouse is recorded as the legal father, even when there is no biological connection or intention to parent.
That gap matters because, under current UK surrogacy law, the surrogate retains legal decision-making power until a parental order transfers legal parenthood to the intended parents. In practice, that process can take six to 12 months after birth.
Why does the legal process feel so slow for new parents?
For Corbett and Frisby, the delay is not abstract. They have spoken about the “endless amounts of paperwork” and social worker visits required before going to the High Court for a parental order. Their criticism is not of the child they fought for, but of a system they believe is not keeping pace with modern family life.
The couple used a surrogate, Krista, in the United States, where they were legally recognised as the child’s parents upon birth. Back in the UK, the position changes. The same family can move from immediate recognition in one country to a prolonged legal wait in another. That contrast sits at the centre of their campaign.
Frisby said, “In 2026 we believe this is outdated. The law needs to recognise intended parents from birth. ”
The issue reaches beyond one family. When legal recognition lags behind the emotional reality of parenting, the early months of a child’s life can be shaped by uncertainty. For intended parents, that means waiting for a court process while caring for a newborn whose legal status remains unresolved.
How has the debate become personal for the family?
The public nature of the couple’s journey has also carried a painful cost. Before Leven was born, they shared details of their surrogacy experience online and were met with homophobic abuse. Frisby said more than 2, 500 comments called them child abusers, sex traffickers, and accused them of stealing babies from mothers.
He described the reaction as “awful to read” and “scary. ” But he also spoke about fatherhood with a sense of commitment that went beyond the legal fight. He said his biggest fear is not being a good dad, adding that the fear may come from not having that in his own childhood.
Corbett, too, has made clear that the complexity of the process does not change their feelings about becoming parents. He said they would go through it “100 times over, ” despite the intrusion they have experienced.
What happens next for Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby?
The petition is now positioned for possible parliamentary debate if it crosses the 100, 000-signature threshold. That would not end the debate, but it would force a response and place surrogacy law reform more firmly into public view.
The family’s appearance on ITV’s This Morning today, 28 April ET, with their four-month-old daughter marked another public moment in a campaign that has moved quickly from private joy to legal and political pressure. At its heart is a simple question: if a child is wanted, loved, and raised from birth, should the law wait months to acknowledge what the family already knows?
For Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby, that question is no longer theoretical. It is sitting in the paperwork, the court process, and the future they want for Leven from birth.
Image caption: Jamie Corbett and Adam Frisby’s surrogacy campaign places their family’s legal recognition at the center of a wider debate over modern parenthood.
