I Adopted My Husband’s Ex-Wife’s Baby, So He Doesn’t Grow Up in Orphanage

Christie Werts, 48, from Ohio, is a woman who recently got many people talking. She did what probably not every woman would do and adopted her husband’s ex-wife’s son. The motivation for such a gesture was love and Christie’s personal experience of her childhood.

Christie didn’t hesitate to adopt when there was the right time.

Christie Werts, 48, met her husband, Wesley, 5 years ago. The spouses blended their two families, including Christie’s children Megan and Vance and Wesley’s children Austin and Dakota.

One day, they got the sad news. Wesley’s ex-wife and mother of Austin and Dakota died. The couple instantly made a huge decision and welcomed her newborn baby, Levi, into their loving family.

Now, the mom has completed legally adopting Levi as of January 2023. She’s currently raising him as her own.

She says, “When I heard about Levi, without hesitation, I said we should take him.”

Christie had a tough childhood and didn’t want the same for Levi.

Christie reveals, “I myself was a foster kid and, although for the most part, I had a great experience, I did not want him going to foster care. My husband did not really speak to the biological mother’s family often, but she had Levi on a Monday and passed away that Friday.”

She adds, “We lived in another state at the time, so we sold our home in Ohio and rented a house in Texas because we had to officially foster to adopt him. So we did — the process took 16 months.”

She explained, “Although my experience was overall as good as it can be in foster care, I just knew I loved my stepkids enough to make sure they got to be with their half-brother. I did not want Levi to end up in the foster care system.”

“I love kids and bonded with my stepkids real quick. I also was in love with my bio kids at first sight. This was different — I was going to walk into a child I never met and was worried the circumstances would hinder this ’instant love. But he stole my heart. I also felt this intense need to protect him,” says the adoptive mom.

And here’s yet another touching story about a single gay man who adopted an ill kid and raised a real Olympic champion.