Who are Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow? UK's first gay dads on 'Below Deck' run a million-dollar empire
After the Covid-19 scare on Parsifal III drove guests away, Captain Glenn Shephard and his team were ready to welcome a new set of people. The Drewitt-Barlow family of nine people booked the luxury yacht to experience the Croatian coast.
But the preference sheet meeting got Natasha De'Bourg, Daisy Kelliher, and Gary King, thinking how they'd accommodate that many people. More on that but before let's take a look at our primary guests Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, also known as Britain's first gay dads.
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Barrie and Tony met in 1987 in Manchester UK. Tony had just received the New Scientist of the year award and was driving to Granada Studios when he lost his way. Looking for directions at a gas station, he bumped into Barrie, who readily agreed to help. Despite their best efforts, the duo found themselves going their separate ways in 2019. Interestingly, despite the split, the former couple continues to live out of their Florida home with their five children -21-year-old twins, Saffron and Aspen, Orlando, 17, and 11-year-old twins Dallas and Jasper.
Even though they paint a happy picture, bringing up their oldest set of twins was not easy. Since they were the first same-sex family trying to get pregnant, the options were limited. After spending years and thousands of US dollars, Tony and Barrie changed their IVF clinic and surrogate, following which they welcomed Saffron and Aspen in 1999, their website reads.
Tony now dates Brent, while Barrie is engaged and has a baby with daughter Saffron's ex-boyfriend Scott R Hutchison. The men may have moved on with other people but they are equally invested and focused in raising their kids. In February 2021, when Tony reportedly made $90 million via Bitcoin, he invested the money in their kids' names. "Saffron and her twin Aspen received $15million each, younger brother Orlando, 17, also got $15million, and 11-year-old twins Dallas and Jasper received $10million," The Sun revealed. Valentina, Barrie and Scott's firstborn, also received a million dollars.
"Barrie and I have always wanted to give our family and extended families nice things and we have always spoilt our children, now we can really spoil them," Tony told the publication and added: "The pressure of being financially responsible for everyone has now lifted and that’s a great feeling." They are massive spenders and it's not surprising given the string of businesses they have. According to reports, they enjoy a combined net worth of $40 million.
Catch all the new episodes of 'Below Deck Sailing Yacht' on Bravo every Monday at 9/8c. For more information, check your local listings.