Platonic co-parenting on the rise, with special dating apps seeing a surge in users: A lot more normal
Platonic co-parenting — where people who aren’t married or romantically involved shack up to raise kids — is on the rise, with aspiring parents flocking to apps that connect them with others seeking the unconventional lifestyle.Modamily, one of the leading platforms matching potential platonic co-parents, had about 50,000 new users join this year alone — climbing from 100,000 users in January to around 150,000 as of August.That’s up from around 30,000 who were using Modamily in 2020, according to Modamily founder Ivan Fatovic, who said about 2,000 new members are joining each month.“We started 15 years ago when it was a much weirder.I used to get a lot of looks when I said what I did,” Fatovic told The Post.
“Now it’s a lot more normal.The trend has been only increasing.”And Modamily isn’t the only co-parenting platform that’s seen its user base skyrocket this year.The app CoParents.com had its users increase by 25% since January, climbing to about 160,000 members worldwide.Co-parenting arrangements take countless forms — sometimes they involve two friends who want kids but not the baggage romance can bring; and sometimes they involve people who saw their own parents’ divorce turn ugly and want to spare their kids the risk of similar trauma.Others are people who are simply too busy with careers to focus on romance but want kids, can’t afford to do it alone, or whose biological clocks are ticking down and don’t have the time to find love and start a family the old-fashioned way.And while there are no universals, one thing typically unifies the arrangements — the parents are not in love and they are not having sex, but they are raising their kids together as one family unit.“People still want a partner to have children with, and they want a partner that helps with the costs and the time, so they can also have time for their individual pursuits — but also raise a child in a positive, loving environment,” Fatovic said.
Such arra...