Jeff Lewis Takes Parenting Daughter Monroe Very Seriously: "I Waited 46 Years to Be a Father"
The #FlippingOut dad opens up about how being a dad has changed him.
When it comes to life as a father, Jeff Lewis admits that he's a different guy than he was just 7 months ago. You see, that's when his daughter, Monroe Christine Lewis, came into the world.
“I’m obsessed,” the Flipping Out designer told Parenting OC. “I used to be very Jeff-centric, now it is all about Monroe. And I love it that way.”
Much like all parents, Jeff has some big dreams for his little girl. He hopes she might even follow in her dad's footsteps someday. “As a kid, much like Gage and I do now, we lived in the homes my dad was flipping. Mission Viejo, Villa Park, Orange Park Acres, Newport Beach, we were all over. I grew up trailing my dad on the job. I expect Monroe will be doing the same thing. It would be great if she wanted to be a designer or developer, but I want her to choose her own path," he said. "I just hope that Monroe is as lucky as I am, in that I was able to make my hobby my career. I would love for her to have that same amazing life. Because it doesn’t feel like work to me.”
Monroe is the first child for Jeff and his partner, Gage Edward. And considering they had some struggles along the way before Monroe was conceived via a surrogate, Jeff doesn't take the responsibility of fatherhood lightly.
“We were trying to simplify things long before Monroe, but having her really was a catalyst for big changes. I don’t have a choice anymore, we can’t work the hours we were working. It is just about streamlining and working smarter. As a parent, you just can’t do it all. The fact is, the first three or four months after she was born, I wasn’t so good at my job. Because something had to give. And it wasn’t going to be Monroe," he said. "So it forced Gage and I to reevaluate. I waited 46 years to be a father… 46 years. I take it very seriously.”
In fact, a lot has changed. The article notes that when Jeff asks his employees who they work for, he tells them, “You work for Monroe Christine Lewis. That’s who we all work for now.”
Check out more Jeff, below.
