Samuel Forrest, the father who catapulted to fame after he was asked by his wife to choose between her and their baby boy with Down Syndrome has finally opened up about the whole ordeal. He and his wife, Ruzan Badalyan, continued with divorce proceedings just a week after their son, Leo, was born in Armenia last Jan. 21, 2015.
Badalyan wanted to give their child up and put him up for adoption then. However, it seems that her decision has changed as the couple have since reunited and finally moved to Forrest's home in Auckland, New Zealand to raise Leo, who just turned one, together.
ABC News reports that Forrest describes his child as "a very happy kid." He says that Leo has a sense of humor and in a lot of ways, not really different than other children. He acknowledges the challenges that young Leo will face and knows that he will "have to work with him differently than you would do another child."
The loving dad also revealed what he felt right after he was informed that their newborn son has Down Syndrome. He said that the moment he laid eyes on his son, he thought, "He's beautiful -- he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him.'"
He continued to narrate how his wife made him choose between her and the baby. He, however, chose Leo over her and decided to launch a Go Fund Me page to help them get back to his homeland. According to The Daily Mail, more than $500,000 dollars was raised and he and Leo went back to New Zealand.
Badalyan then decided to divorce Forrest and thoroughly explained to him the cultural and social pressures she felt which resulted in her decision. However, just after three weeks, the couple reconciled and she was able to hold Leo for the very first time.
Badalyan explained how she felt about being made out to be the bad guy in the situation and being criticized for supposedly leaving her child behind. Her husband, however, defended her and said that she fully did not understand a thing about Down Syndrome at the time.
Now, one year later, baby Leo just celebrated his birthday together with his parents. Badalyan also expressed her love for their child, saying,"I love him very much. I can't really imagine my life without him. He's changed me so much. I can say I'm a different person now."
