There's a happy ending to Dan Gaut's story.

Dan Gaut was on a holiday in the US when he met Liv. They hit it off instantly, embarking on a whirlwind romance that left Dan believing he'd met the love of his life.  

So much so that Liv flew back to Australia to be with Dan. She said there was nothing left for her in Texas. Her "heart and energy" were in Australia now, Dan told A Current Affair.

Before long Liv fell pregnant, and the couple couldn't have been happier. Dan was ready. He'd been ready since he was 21, he said. 

"I knew that it was just in my future and I was just waiting for everything to align," he told ACA. 

They were inseparable. But then, things changed. Liv started feeling homesick, and planned a quick trip to Texas to be around her support network. 

Only, she didn't come back. Instead, she told Dan she — and her unborn baby — were never coming back, leaving him shell-shocked and heartbroken. 

Watch some of Dan's story. Post continues below.

But the worst was yet to come. Liv told Dan she wasn't ready to raise a child, and planned to put their baby up for adoption. Dan begged her not to do it. It's "so wrong", he told her. But she was sure. She didn't want to have the baby. 

So, Dan made a decision. He'd jump on a plane, and raise that baby himself. There was just one problem, he didn't have the cash to make the trip over. 

Thankfully, Dan is a popular guy, whose family and friends raised enough money via a GoFundMe page to book the flights, and start making plans to bring his daughter home to Australia.

Dan told ACA he barely slept during the 15-hour flight to Texas, before laying his eyes on his daughter for the first time.

Baby Ana was born in February, with Dan arriving at the hospital less than two days after she came into the world.

"She's just the cutest little thing, she's so good, she's just adorable and just picture perfect," he said.

"It was like whatever apprehension or possibly awkwardness I might've been thinking about, in that moment just dissolved. The love for her took over and it was like such a magical loving moment that I just, just couldn't wait to hold her. She's just a little angel, really chill which is phenomenal, I couldn't ask for anything more."

Initially, Liv agreed to let Dan bring Ana back to Australia.

However, one month later there was a devastating update. 

"I feel heartbroken and empty as I'm forced to leave America alone. Liv has changed her mind and wants to keep Ana in the States and be her primary caregiver," Dan announced on Instagram on Monday.

Ana's mum, Liv, had reunited with her ex-partner and planned to remain in Texas, with baby Ana.

Dan continued: "I'd like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me on this journey. I will use the remaining donations to seek legal representation in Austin and to visit Ana as often as I can. I still hold strong the vision of Ana growing up in Australia in the not too distant future."

Fortunately, things are now looking up, with Liv revealing on Instagram that she wants Dan to be a major part of Ana's life and share custody of their daughter.

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A post shared by Liv Love Olivia Pavlov (@livlovetantra)

"Well the tides are always changing and I'm happy to announce that baby Ana Rose is so loved by both her mama and her daddy Daniel Gaut," she wrote underneath a photo of her holding Ana.

"After five weeks here in America, Daddy Daniel has gone home for a bit while we regroup and work out our shared custody agreement so that we can have flow in our life this next chapter."

Liv shared her side of the story in her recent post, saying pregnancy had left her in a "trauma response".

"Of course when we magically got a message to conceive Ana Rose we were both a yes and our stories about love and fantasy of family life kicked in," she wrote.

"In reality both of us struggled to connect and didn't even know each other, having only spent a WEEK together!"

She said both she and Dan had "felt Ana's soul and felt the truth of her desire to come to earth."

"When things didn't work and Daniel felt he couldn't open his heart and I needed to be home in America things became complicated even further," she said.

She concluded by saying she's looking forward to giving Ana a loving home in Austin with the help of her "amazing community" and family.

"And Daddy thankfully had amazing fundraising and is gonna be able to come spend LOTS of time with the luckiest girl in the world," she said.

This article was originally published on February 29, 2024, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Instagram/@livlovetantra

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