Sweet Photos of Guy Benson's First Child Will Melt Your Heart (Exclusive)

Guy Benson

What a Thanksgiving gift! Fox News commentator Guy Benson and his husband Adam Wise became first-time fathers over the holiday weekend.

The couple, who married in 2019 in a lavish Napa ceremony, exclusively shares with Parade the details of their son's arrival. Conrad James Benson-Wise arrived at 3:42 a.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 25 via surrogate. The baby boy weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

“We are totally in love, so excited and he’s doing great” Benson, who hosts the Guy Benson Show on FOX News Radio and is a Fox News contributor, tells Parade. “It’s a challenge as new parents and involves so much feeding, crying, diaper changes and staying on his schedule. But it's a privilege to do it. And we are over the moon.”

In this exclusive interview with Parade, Benson shares the sweet story behind Conrad’s name, what songs they are already singing to the newborn and how all the cliches about parenting are true. Benson says he’s already totally transformed in ways he could never imagine.

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“When we first laid eyes on him, we both got very emotional,” says Benson. “And what's funny is almost every single one of the cliches has already proven true, including this notion that somehow your heart just levels up to a different size as soon as you have a child. I didn't really know how that would feel, but I can confirm that is a real phenomenon.”

Benson and Wise have been blown away by the outpouring of love from their friends, family and Fox colleagues. “Being a parent and the lack of sleep and responsibilities can feel overwhelming,” he says. “But it's been balanced out by the immense love that we feel for our child and the support we feel from our family and others. It has been an incredible blessing.”

Read on for more from our exclusive interview.

Did you and Adam always see yourselves being fathers?

Years ago, when we were really in the very early stages of what the kids would call “talking,” we were sort of feeling each other out about long-term compatibility. And having kids was hopefully in my plans, And definitely in his plans. He is very parental in terms of his instincts. So that was a good match.

We were married in 2019 and had this really great experience and had done all this travel. And at a certain point, I thought, I’m in my late thirties. And parenting involves vigor and energy. So if we're going to get this ball rolling, it seems like maybe it's a good time to really have that serious conversation. And with Adam, it wasn't really a should we or shouldn't we, it was just, OK, how do we get this done? Let's go.

How did you come up with the name Conrad James?

For the last couple of years we have been talking about the idea of trying to start a family. Occasionally we would have a glass of wine and start talking about names. James, Conrad's middle name, is my younger brother's name. He gave the toast at our wedding and he and I have been on this planet together since the late '80s. And it's a strong, beautiful biblical name.

We also wanted the name to be sort of traditional, but not typical. We actually told almost no one the baby's name, including our family, before he was born.

Related: Most Popular Baby Boy Names in 2023

Is there a special meaning behind Conrad?

We were going for something traditional that has been around a long time. Also, as a little kid, I spent about seven years in Hong Kong. And my favorite hotel where we would stay was the Conrad Hilton, which is overlooking the Harbor and has a beautiful view. I just had all these fond childhood memories at this hotel.

Also, travel is a big part of Adam and my relationship, The very first international trip we ever went on together, back when we were just seeing each other, in 2017, was going to Hong Kong with my brother, his girlfriend and my cousin. Adam and I stayed at the Conrad Hilton.

Did you tell your parents Conrad's name beforehand?

Our parents were just dying to know and they were guessing and wanted clues. We had an aviation-themed baby shower at our house, which was amazing. All our friends and family came into town.

My mother brought some mementos from her own mother’s first baby shower when my maternal grandmother had her oldest in the early 1950s. One of those items she brought and we displayed was a booklet of baby names from around 1950. There were about 500 boys and girls' names and Conrad was on the list. So we told them, ‘your one clue is this baby's name is in that booklet.’ Of course that barely narrowed it down.

Related: 300 Unique Baby Boy and Girl Names

Everything is all so new but is there something you like to sing to Conrad?

My middle school theater department put on the musical Bye Bye Birdie. I was not in the musical, but did the tech for it. Conrad Birdie is the main character. And there’s a song that goes, “We love you Conrad/Oh yes we do/We love you Conrad/And we'll be true/When you're not near us/We’re blue/Oh Conrad we love you.”

It's early still but have you gotten a sense of his personality yet?

He's pretty chill overall except when he is definitely not. We flew to the Midwest for the 20 week ultrasound to be physically present for that. When we got the 3D ultrasound images of his face, which was just breathtaking to see that little person, he had his tiny hand almost in front of his face. It was almost in a position that a boxer might have. And what's adorable is he still defaults to that. Even when we try to swaddle him with his arms down, he figures out a way to wiggle to get those hands up near his face.

What did your parents say when they learned about Conrad being born?

They were so eager for the news and my mother, in particular, has been strongly hinting and then openly wishing for grandchildren for a while. The due date was the day before Thanksgiving, So we flew to Chicago and basically lived with our friends there for a week and a half until Conrad finally arrived. We got the phone call around midnight that our surrogate was going into labor and we should drive up to Wisconsin. We got in the car within 15 minutes and started heading north. Then we called our families to just give them the heads up.

When my mother got the call at her home in Massachusetts, she got out of bed, went downstairs, and I joke that she set up a war room. She was on the phone texting everyone and was basically up all night with excitement. And as soon as he was born, got his stats and were holding him, the very next thing we did was call our families and tell our parents that they were officially grandparents.

Is Conrad the first grandchild on both sides?

Yes. And by the way, not to brag, but I was the first grandchild on both sides. And Conrad is the first grandchild on both sides.

What do you hope for your child?

The day-to-day reality right now is just survival. To get from one hour to the next. And then we'll figure that out as we come. We have an incredible support system of family, friends and neighbors.

When we got back to the house, our neighbors put a giant congratulations sign in our front yard to welcome us back home. The amount of love and support that we feel from so many people has been overwhelming. Ultimately, what I'm hoping and praying for the most is that we have a healthy and kind human being.

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