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Topics: Parenting, Sex and Relationships, Wedding, US News
Claire Reid
A man who fell in love with a single-mum after meeting on a dating website has made things official by adopting all six of her kids.
Tony Thomas, who also has a daughter of his own from a previous relationship, married Lexy four years ago after she reached out to him on a dating site.
After striking up a conversation online, the pair knew they wanted to meet up in real life and Tony flew out to see the stay-at-home mum at her home in Kentucky, USA, which she shared with her sons - Elijah, 16, Isaiah, 15, Ethan,14, Sheldon, 12, Simeon, 10, and Iridius who is seven-years-old.
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The pair soon tied the knot and have since had two children of their own to add to their bumper blended family, which has now become official after Tony signed the paperwork to formally adopt Lexy's children.
Lexy said: "I was married previously to my boys' biological father, which unfortunately ended, but he’s no longer in their life and hasn’t seen them since they were younger.
"Within the first month of being on a dating site, called Christian Mingle, I saw Tony and reached out to him.
"I introduced him to my children as Mr Thomas and they called him that for the longest time up until we got married.
“But that was so crazy. I had prayed for all the great characteristics in a man that I see in Tony. I didn't pray for like a super weird husband, but that's what I got. But then I got all these other things.
“The boys all have the surname Thomas, and Tony is on all the kids' birth certificates as their father. One of the boys even changed his first, middle and last name when he was adopted.
“I booked last minute flights for all the boys to see Tony and because I was granted full custody of them, they never went back to Kentucky.
“The judge said that it's been one in two cases where she has ever permitted the biological parent to move to another state from the other biological parent.
“I see us as a very blended family because there has never been this dynamic of his kids, my kids. We are a family, there is no separation.
Tony said: "We see us living in Florida as a blessing because initially, there was no way for her to move or relocate. But we really felt like God was telling us that we would live in Florida, and we just had to have faith.
“So, we got married, put a contract on a house took all these steps to for everyone to be there.
"She had more kids than I had ever considered that I wanted. But I prayed for a boy, and she had six of them, and now we have two children of our own, one-year-old Autumn and Lexton who is nine-months-old, as well as my eldest daughter, Alexis, who is 21.
"Everything just miraculously happened, and we could have a whole hour-long session of the blessings that God has had in our lives, and I am just so grateful!"