Thomas Beatie’s wife, according to media reports from the mid-2010s, is Amber Nicholas, whom he married after his divorce from his first wife, Nancy Gillespie. Beatie became internationally known in 2008 as “the pregnant man” after sharing his story as a transgender man carrying a child, and he gave birth to three children during his first marriage.
This profile covers both marriages, his family, the drawn-out legal fight over his divorce, his memoir and media work, and what is and is not known about his life and finances today. It sticks to details reported by reputable outlets and flags the claims that circulate online without solid sourcing.
Thomas Beatie Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Born | January 20, 1974, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Known for | Being one of the first transgender men to share a pregnancy publicly (2008) |
| First spouse | Nancy Gillespie (married 2003; separated 2012) |
| Later spouse | Amber Nicholas (per media reports) |
| Children | Three, born in 2008, 2009 and 2010 |
| Book | Labor of Love: The Story of One Man’s Extraordinary Pregnancy (2008) |
| Estimated net worth | Not disclosed; rough estimates vary widely by source |
Who Is Amber Nicholas?
Amber Nicholas is a private person, and nearly everything publicly known about her comes from news coverage of Beatie. Reports in the mid-2010s described her as working in early childhood education and said the couple became engaged and later married. She has not sought a public profile of her own and rarely, if ever, gives interviews.
Because so little is on the record, many details that circulate online, such as exact wedding dates, how they met or where they live now, are not reliably sourced. The safest summary is that Nicholas became Beatie’s partner after his first marriage ended and was described in coverage as supportive of him and his children. Whether they remain married today is not something either has discussed publicly in recent years.
His First Marriage to Nancy Gillespie
Beatie married Nancy Gillespie in Hawaii in 2003, after he had legally changed his gender marker to male. Gillespie already had children from a previous relationship and could no longer carry a pregnancy after a medical procedure. Because Beatie had kept his reproductive organs during his transition, the couple decided he would carry their child.
He paused testosterone therapy and conceived through artificial insemination with donor sperm. The couple later moved to Oregon, where their family life drew worldwide attention once Beatie went public.
The Children
Beatie gave birth to a daughter in 2008, followed by sons in 2009 and 2010, and the couple raised the three together. Out of respect for their privacy, this article does not name or discuss the children beyond what their parents chose to share publicly when they were infants. They are now in their mid-to-late teens.
Separation and the Landmark Divorce Case
Beatie and Gillespie separated in 2012, by which point the family was living in Arizona. The divorce became a legal story of its own. In 2013 an Arizona family court judge declined to grant it, questioning whether the marriage had been valid in a state that did not then recognize same-sex marriage, given that Beatie had given birth.
Beatie appealed. In 2014 the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the marriage was valid, because it had been lawfully entered in Hawaii with Beatie legally recognized as male, and that the family court had jurisdiction to dissolve it. The case is often cited as an early example of courts grappling with transgender people’s legal status in marriage and parenthood.
Timeline of Key Events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Born in Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 2003 | Marries Nancy Gillespie in Hawaii |
| 2008 | Essay in The Advocate and appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show; first child born; memoir published |
| 2009 | Second child born |
| 2010 | Third child born |
| 2012 | Beatie and Gillespie separate, living in Arizona |
| 2013 | Arizona family court declines to grant the divorce |
| 2014 | Arizona Court of Appeals rules the marriage valid and able to be dissolved |
| Mid-2010s | Media reports identify Amber Nicholas as his new partner and later wife |
| 2015 | Obergefell v. Hodges establishes nationwide marriage equality |
How Thomas Beatie Became Known Worldwide
In early 2008 Beatie wrote a personal essay for The Advocate, an LGBTQ magazine, describing his pregnancy. The story spread quickly, and weeks later he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, turning it into a global news event. Interviews with major outlets and documentaries about his family followed.
He was not the first transgender man to become pregnant, but he was the first to receive attention on that scale, and the label “the pregnant man” stuck. Reactions were mixed: many people found the story moving, while others responded with hostility. Beatie has said in interviews that he wanted to show that the desire to have a family is not tied to gender.
Early Life
Beatie was born in Honolulu on January 20, 1974, and was assigned female at birth. He has described growing up with a sense that his gender identity did not match how others saw him. As a teenager he took part in local pageants, including a Miss Hawaii Teen USA competition, an experience he has referenced when describing the pressure he felt to meet expectations. He transitioned in his twenties, including chest surgery and hormone therapy, and changed his legal gender to male in Hawaii.
Book, Media and Public Work
- Memoir: Labor of Love: The Story of One Man’s Extraordinary Pregnancy (2008) traces his life from childhood through his first pregnancy.
- Television: interviews on The Oprah Winfrey Show and major news networks from 2008 onward, plus documentaries about his family.
- Speaking: talks and media appearances on transgender parenting and family rights.
He has not held a high-profile formal role with a major advocacy organization, and claims that he won specific awards are hard to verify. His influence came mainly from visibility: his story pushed questions about transgender parenthood into mainstream conversation years before they became common topics.
Thomas Beatie’s Net Worth
Beatie’s net worth has never been disclosed. Celebrity estimate sites give figures anywhere from several hundred thousand dollars to around $2 million, but none cites verifiable financial records, so treat any number as a rough guess. His known income sources include:
- Royalties and the advance from his memoir
- Fees from interviews, documentaries and speaking, mostly concentrated between 2008 and 2014
- Ordinary employment and small business work outside the media spotlight
Media attention peaked more than a decade ago, and a long, costly divorce and custody process would have affected his finances. That context argues for caution about the higher estimates.
Why His Relationships Attract So Much Interest
Searches for “Thomas Beatie wife” usually come from people who remember the 2008 headlines and want to know what happened next. The answer is a fairly ordinary life story told under unusual scrutiny: a marriage, three children, a divorce and a new relationship. Curiosity about the partners of well-known people is common; our profiles of Gina Torres’s husband and Heather Rae Young’s husband look at how other public figures have handled that attention.
What sets Beatie apart is that his family life became part of a wider legal and social debate. The questions his case raised about how the law recognizes transgender people’s marriages and their roles as parents have since been addressed more directly in many jurisdictions. In the United States, the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality national law, removing the specific question that stalled his divorce.
Common Claims to Treat With Caution
- “He was the first man ever to give birth.” Other transgender men had given birth before 2008; Beatie was the first to become a worldwide news story.
- Exact net worth figures. No reliable financial disclosure exists, so precise numbers are guesses.
- Detailed claims about Amber Nicholas. Specific facts about her career, background or current life are rarely sourced and often copied from site to site.
- Awards and formal titles. Lists of honors attributed to him are generally unverified.
- Recent personal updates. Pages describing his current home, job or relationship status in detail rarely cite a source.
Life Away From the Headlines
In recent years Beatie has kept a much lower profile. He has given occasional interviews but has largely stepped back from the media while his children grew up. Readers looking for current details should be wary of sites that present specific recent facts without sources. For a different kind of family profile, see our piece on Misha Ezratti’s wife.
How to Check Claims About Thomas Beatie Yourself
Because so much of what appears online about Beatie’s personal life is recycled from older pages, a few simple checks help separate reported facts from filler:
- Look for a named outlet and date. Credible claims about his marriages usually trace back to a specific news report or interview, not an unnamed “source.”
- Check court coverage for legal details. The 2013 family court decision and the 2014 appeals ruling were widely reported, so details about the divorce should match that coverage.
- Be skeptical of precise numbers. Exact net worth figures, salaries or wedding costs without a source are almost always estimates presented as fact.
- Compare dates. If a page describes a “current” detail but cites only 2008 to 2014 coverage, it is probably outdated.
Applying those checks keeps the focus on what is documented while respecting the privacy of his partner and children.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Thomas Beatie’s wife?
Media reports from the mid-2010s identify Amber Nicholas as his wife after his divorce. His first wife was Nancy Gillespie, whom he married in Hawaii in 2003.
How many children does Thomas Beatie have?
He has three children: a daughter born in 2008 and two sons born in 2009 and 2010. He carried and gave birth to all three.
Why was Thomas Beatie’s divorce controversial?
An Arizona judge initially refused to grant the divorce in 2013, questioning whether the marriage was valid. In 2014 the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled it was valid and could be dissolved.
What book did Thomas Beatie write?
He wrote the memoir Labor of Love: The Story of One Man’s Extraordinary Pregnancy, published in 2008. It covers his life from childhood through his first pregnancy.
What is Thomas Beatie’s net worth?
It has not been disclosed. Online estimates range from several hundred thousand dollars to about $2 million, but none is based on verified records.
Why is Thomas Beatie called the pregnant man?
The nickname came from worldwide coverage in 2008 after he wrote about his pregnancy in The Advocate and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Bottom Line
The short answer to who Thomas Beatie’s wife is: Amber Nicholas, according to mid-2010s reports, following his 2003 to 2014 marriage to Nancy Gillespie. Beyond those documented facts and the 2014 Arizona appeals ruling, most details online about his current private life are unverified, so read them with care.
