Sasha Goreshtein, a 38-year-old paralegal from Montreal, made the deliberate decision to have a second child with her on-again-off-again boyfriend to prevent her son from having stepsiblings. The couple, who have been together for five years, now have two sons: Zayn, three, and Leon, 13 months.
Motivation Behind the Decision
Sasha explained that she wanted Zayn to have a full sibling rather than half-siblings from different households. 'I kept picturing my son going from one house to another to visit his dad and visit his mum on his own,' she said. 'Let's say the father of my kid meets another woman, and he had a longer timeline and decided to have another child. My son would then go to my house, and go to see his half sibling only half the time.'
She cited her own close relationship with her sister as a driving factor. 'I have a sister I'm really close to and is my best friend,' Sasha explained. 'I wanted Zayn to have another brother or sister to do life with.'
Relationship Timeline
Sasha and her partner, 37, met when she was 33. She fell pregnant after just six months of dating, and Zayn was born in February 2023. When Zayn was two, the couple split but continued to co-parent. 'When you have a child with someone, cutting contact is impossible, so inevitably we kept trying to make it work,' Sasha said.
As she approached 40, Sasha felt pressure from her biological clock. 'Yes, women can have children older, but for me, I didn't want a kid too late,' she said. She reasoned that her partner was already a proven father. 'I already knew I had a father for my child who was a great father,' she added. 'Why go and take the risk of potentially meeting someone else if I don't know what kind of person he will be? Will he have the same values?'
The Second Pregnancy
In 2024, while on holiday in Greece, the pair agreed to try for another baby. 'We both wanted it, but I think I probably thought about it more than him,' Sasha said. 'As a man he didn't see the importance.' She acknowledged that she was more aware of the possibility the relationship might not last. 'I think men in this sort of situation are doing their best and really trying to save their family and don't think of the possibility of it not working out.'
The couple split during Sasha's pregnancy but reconciled after Leon's birth. They currently remain in a relationship but live separately.
Public Reaction
Sharing her story on social media, Sasha received both positive and negative feedback. Some criticised her views on blended families, suggesting she implied half-siblings are not 'true siblings'. 'It is absolutely not what I'm saying,' Sasha clarified. 'It's nothing to do with blood, it's more the logistics part.'
Others praised her honesty. 'People said: “Hey I love what you did, I have half siblings and I don't see them often and unfortunately I'm not as close with them as my full siblings and don't get to see them all the time, I wish I did,”' she recounted. Some thanked her for sharing, noting they felt judged for making similar choices. 'Some said: “Thank you for sharing, I'm in the same situation and made the decision to have a second child and felt so judged, my family and friends didn't understand so seeing this post made me a little happier and less alone.”'
