Joel Cruz, the man behind Afficionado had eight kids out of surrogacy.

Yes. This multi-millionaire who has built his perfume empire and known to be the Lord of Scents is a father to eight children born out of surrogacy and spent roughly P52 million for all of them.

Photo from Jowel Cruz Official Facebook Page

Joel is openly gay and have longed to have kids, as he just can’t do it with a woman, he opted to have kids via surrogacy.

To those who are unfamiliar with the term, surrogacy involves a woman agreeing to carry a baby for someone else. Surrogacy though is not yet legal in the Philippines, so he went to find a Russian girl that would bear his children as surrogacy is legal in Russia.

Photo from Jowel Cruz Official Facebook Page

Surrogate mothers are well-known to be very expensive but we didn’t really know how expensive and extensive it is until now.

Choosing the best mother for his children, Joel chose a tall, beautiful woman to compensate for his height as he wants his kids to have a chance at being tall. Lilia, the surrogate mom, already had kids with her husband so the implantation was more viable.

Photo from Jowel Cruz Official Facebook Page

P52 Million breakdown

The expenses cover fare, hotel accommodations, payment, and other expenses.

  • First set of twins, a boy and a girl, – P12 million
  • Second set of twins, both boys- P11 million
  • Third set of twins (a boy and a girl)- P11 million
  • Seventh solo baby (different surrogate mom)- P9 million
  • Eighth solo baby (different surrogate mom)- P9 million

The last solo babies have different surrogate mothers but are still made with Joel’s sperm and Lilia’s eggs so the children are still full siblings.

Photo from Jowel Cruz Official Facebook Page

Joel now has to raise eight kids which is more than a challenge so he hires nannies for each of them in his big household.

Surrogacy is a good thing as everyone deserves a chance in having kids if they want. Maybe in the near future, it would be legalized here in the Philippines as well.


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