Thomas Wilson’s Emotional Adoption Journey: Professional pickleball player Thomas Wilson and his wife, Brittany Wilson, recently adopted their second daughter, Haven Lively, born on April 23, 2025. After spending two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Haven joined her sister Holyn at home. The couple shared their emotional journey during a podcast interview, highlighting the joy and the challenges they faced.
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Second Adoption Brings New Joy
Thomas Wilson and Brittany Wilson had already adopted Holyn in late 2023. Just months later, they were surprised when Holyn’s birth mother contacted them asking if they would adopt Holyn’s newborn sister, Haven.
They agreed, even though they were unsure whether they were ready to go through the process again. Haven was born early and weighed just 4 pounds, 5.5 ounces. After spending two weeks in the NICU, she was strong enough to meet Holyn. A video of the sisters meeting was shared on Instagram and touched many hearts.
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A Complicated but Meaningful Journey
Thomas Wilson opened up about the adoption experience on the Hannah Johns Podcast. “It’s absolute chaos,” said Wilson.
Unlike Holyn’s adoption, which went through an agency, Haven’s adoption happened directly through the family. It made the legal side easier and cheaper, but there were still challenges.
“This time, it’s been a bit easier because it’s made the process less complicated, but the pre-term stuff has been a bit more intense than Holyn, so that has it’s own challenges. There’s a lot of drug use, homelessness, domestic violence, and just crazy stuff that I’ve never really been exposed to with unbelievable challenges. Not even having a place to lay your head or have food to eat.” – (Wilson)
Praying Through Hard Times
Thomas Wilson shared that the birth mother was struggling and in poor health. The Wilsons have tried to support her as much as possible.
“The birth mom was not healthy and in a tough situation. We have so much compassion for them. It’s just hard to watch, and we do everything we possibly can to help. Praying that she’ll be healthy. It makes you thankful for everything you have in life.” – (Wilson)
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Advocating for Adoption Reform
The Wilsons support adoption but also pointed out how hard it can be.
“The process of adoption is just really difficult. It’s a long process, and it’s hard in a lot of different ways, which is unfortunate because there’s two million people or couples on the waiting list to adopt babies. It just shouldn’t be that way because there’s so many kids that need to be adopted.” – (Wilson)
“The system is just pretty broken, and now we understand why more kids aren’t adopted because it’s tough. I wish it was easier so more of these precious little children could be saved from some of the insane situations.” – (Wilson)
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Life at Home with Two Young Children
Now that the Wilsons have Holyn and Haven, their home life is full.
“They’re 19 months apart, which is a little bit quicker than we expected. But at the same time, I’m 35 and it’s great to knock it out and have a bunch of kids back-to-back. I’m sure two kids is going to be a lot, especially so close together, and with everything else going on, but we’ve got to take it one step at a time.” – (Wilson)
So far, Holyn has been an easy child, and the Wilsons hope the same for Haven.
“Holyn is the easiest baby to ever exist. She’s so sweet and gentle. She’s just such a happy baby all the time. It’s crazy given the situation and how she is. We’re like ‘How is this possible?’ She’s just perfect, so healthy, and we hope baby number two is somewhat close to this because we’re certainly spoiled.” – (Wilson)
A Growing Family Full of Hope
Even with all the stress, Thomas Wilson and Brittany Wilson remain hopeful and grateful. They are focusing on raising their daughters with love, faith, and strength. Their story is one of determination, faith, and the power of family—both chosen and born.
News in Brief: Thomas Wilson’s Emotional Adoption Journey
Thomas Wilson and Brittany Wilson adopted their second daughter, Haven Lively, born April 23, after previously adopting Holyn in 2023. After time in the NICU, Haven is now home. The Wilsons shared their emotional journey on a podcast, expressing joy, challenges, and their strong support for adoption.
ALSO READ: Thomas Wilson Opens Up: Health Crisis, Adoption Joy, and the Fight to Stay in Pickleball