BPerfect Cosmetics founder Brendan McDowell is set to take a step back from his business next year to start a family.
The businessman revealed his plans to step back in the BBC reality show Made Up in Belfast, which followed the lives of him and his team, earlier this year.
Although he didn’t give a reason for his decision at the time, he has now come out and said it is because he wishes to start a family with his partner Tony.
Brendan and Tony have spent the last five years on their IVF journey, which was interrupted by Covid, and got close to becoming dads this year but instead suffered huge heartache after losing two pregnancies.
The 41-year-old spoke about what a knock this was for him, as his main motive for driving the success of BPerfect was to “fund starting a family”.
The businessman said: “I think everybody, whether you’re same-sex or not same-sex couples, have all been through it and felt shame and embarrassed.
“It’s kind of a taboo. A lot of people go dark and silent. You almost feel like you’ve let people down and that’s the way we felt. It’s good to share stories, because once you go through it, you realise how many people have been through the same thing but keep it to themselves.”
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He continued: “It’s a massive thing that happens so much that we just don’t talk about, and I’m a big believer in talking. Gratitude helps, and being thankful for what you have helps you get through the hardest of times.”
“The first time was at five or six weeks, so we went again. It was hard the first time, but the second time it was further on, we were 11-and-a-half weeks.
“We were about to do the 12-week scan and we were all excited and about to announce to everybody and then there was no heartbeat,”
“So it was a bit of a shock and it set us right back because we had no embryos left.”
Brendan highlighted his disappointment and said: “We were right back at the start of a nearly five-year journey, starting basically from scratch again.”
Brendan is from a small family in Annalong, and was completely self-made starting with just a “few hundred pounds and an eyebrow palette.”
He invested primarily in influencer marketing and always managed to bag huge clients to work with, including Love Island winner Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu.
Brendan has also co-founded a hair brand called Voduz, but insists he was never money-driven.
“Most people have a goal of hitting a financial return or selling their business.”
“When I started out, it was just to have enough money to start a family.”
“Being a same-sex couple, it’s harder starting a family and by no means is money everything, but it helps you on your journey.”
He turned his loss into a gain and threw himself into work to take his mind off the pain, which resulted in his company growing by 70% in the last year.
Brendan’s sister has also struggled in her journey to have a baby but welcomed daughter Éabha last year, which has been a huge boost for him to keep trying.
He said: “My niece turned one last month and that’s been the big positive. My sister was trying for 10 years and I’m obsessed with my niece.”
Trying to think positively about the situation he said: “For a couple of days I was thinking ‘why me?’ but I’m a big believer in gratitude and you have to think ‘what are you thankful for?’ “
“Hopefully we will go again next year and what will be will be,” he said.
