Pete and Chasten Buttigieg Introduce Newborn Children on Social Media

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten recently announced the birth of their two children with social media posts. The couple and new parents shared a black-and-white photo of each other, looking at one another and holding their two children.

Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family. pic.twitter.com/kS89gb11Ax

— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 4, 2021

They haven’t shared further details around Penelope and Joseph’s birth publicly, though it’s widely speculated that the two newborns are twins. Joseph is also most likely named after Pete’s father, Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II.

The couple first publicly shared the news that they were becoming parents a few weeks ago on Twitter.

“For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family,” Pete posted on August 17. “We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents! The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us. We can’t wait to share more soon.”

The couple has talked publicly about wanting children since early 2020, and even earlier in their relationship, before they were married, they already discussed their desire to be parents, according to Chasten’s memoir, I Have Something to Tell You.

Their journey has been in the public eye, with a recent Washington Post profile of Buttigieg noting that they were having trouble adopting over the past several years. Just recently, the couple dropped everything to travel to the state of a birth mother who was putting her child up for adoption, but she later changed her mind.

“It’s a really weird cycle of anger and frustration and hope,” Chasten says. “You think it’s finally happening and you get so excited, and then it’s gone.”

He adds that he would like to one day tell his children: “We tried so hard for you. We waited so long for you.”

Photo courtesy of Pete Buttigieg on Twitter