Although the motivations of gay men to become parents mirror those of heterosexual men and many gay men continue to want to be parents in the future, the current cohort of midlife and older gay men are disproportionately childless as compared with their heterosexual counterparts. This article aims to understand how childless midlife and older gay men see their childlessness as they continue to navigate their lives. Narrative analysis was used to explore the stories of 26 midlife and older gay men who reflected on their state of childlessness. The central theme identified in the narratives of these gay men was that the state of childlessness is perceived through the continuum of regret.
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