REAL LIFE
Two years ago Cheryl McCain, 63, told Closer how she and her toyboy hubby wanted a baby together. Now Cheryl says that wish has come true…
We last spoke to Cheryl McCain and her partner Quran in January 2022. Then a 61-year-old mum-of-seven and gran-of-17, Cheryl expressed her hopes for a baby with Quran, then 24 – despite him being 37 years her junior.
Now, two-and-a-half years on, the couple have announced that their baby dreams are set to come true via a surrogate – and they couldn’t be happier.
Cheryl, now 63, says, “Quran and I talked a little about having a child together before we got married and then afterwards we talked about it more seriously. I was up for it from the start. I loved the idea. I wanted to give Quran a baby of his own. “I never had any doubts.
I’ve raised seven children and looked after my grandchildren. Why would it be any different? We always knew we’d need to use a surrogate because obviously my age meant I was no longer able to conceive a child naturally.”
Cheryl first met Quran in November 2020, when he visited the petrol station where she worked as a cashier.
Cheryl had been divorced for 10 years and had just come out of a long-term relationship. Aclose friendship developed between the pair and, in March 2021, Quran, now 26, told Cheryl that he was falling in love with her.
FRIENDSHIP
“It took a while for things to progress,” says Cheryl. “Then, after we first made love, Quran admitted he’d been a virgin. I was amazed, but he said he’d been waiting for the right person, which made me feel so special. And let’s just say you couldn’t tell it was his first time!”
The besotted pair married in September 2021 and it was then that they began talking more seriously about having a child.
As soon as they announced their hopes for a baby on their social media channels, Cheryl says they were “inundated” with messages from women offering themselves as surrogates.
“A lot of people were getting in touch on TikTok wanting to be our surrogate to help us have a baby,” says Cheryl. “But they all lived really far away. We wanted to know the person we chose.”
Even when the couple found someone they trusted and had met face-to-face, disappointment followed. Cheryl recalls, “Someone we’d met on a date night messaged after we’d spoken about our situation and offered to help us. We drew up a contract with her but, sadly, it didn’t work out.
“Luckily, we hadn’t paid any expenses to her at that point.” Three more potential surrogates similarly fell by the wayside.
“I felt they were just out for money or online fame,” says Cheryl, who admits
