While the title of Netflix's sure-to-be gripping new docu-series, The Man with 1,000 Kids, might not be *totally* accurate, it's certainly known that Jonathan Meijer is a prolific sperm donor with at least 500 offspring to his name. Crikey. But where is Jonathan Meijer now? And what's the true story of his rise to notoriety?
Here's a deep-dive into what we know about the Dutch sperm donor scammer...
Who is Jonathan Meijer?
Jonathan Meijer is a Dutch musician accused of travelling the world and tricking women into having his children – on an extremely large scale. And by that, we mean he has a reported (at least) 500 children, possibly up to 600. He first started donating sperm to a clinic in the Netherlands in 2007, and despite the law explicitly stating the maximum number of children a person can supply sperm for is 25 (via 12 different mothers), he carried on for more than a decade.
Back in 2017, after it came to light that his sperm had been used to conceive a staggering 102 children, he was forbidden from donating any more sperm in his native country – however, this didn't stop Meijer from travelling further afield and continuing to donate in other areas. Sometimes, it's alleged, he'd use a different alias in order to be accepted onto the books of various clinics, some of which supplied sperm in multiple locations.
Given the sheer number of children conceived using his sperm, mothers (with similar-looking blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids) began meeting one another by chance, raising the alarm about Meijer and his very generous donations (both in-person and through clinics). Some then grouped together to form an organisation intent on stopping Meijer – more on that below.
It's said that in his online profiles, Meijer compared his appearance to that of Brad Pitt and Chris Hemsworth, and as for why he made so many donations, theories range from Meijer having an addiction to breeding, to wanting to break a Guinness World Record for the 'most amount of children'. He told a newspaper in Germany last year that he now wants to have his own family, according to The Mirror.
"I want to start a family, dream of having five children," Meijer reportedly shared. "Yes, I lied to the women. That was wrong. I wanted to help them." He also claimed he donated his sperm for free, but would sometimes receive plane tickets or gifts in exchange (especially when carrying out private donations with people he'd chatted directly to online, as opposed to those who selected his profile from a clinic).
How many children does Jonathan Meijer have?
Whilst an exact figure isn't known, it's believed Meijer's sperm was used to conceive at least 500 children, but possibly up to 600 – and in the new Netflix trailer for The Man with 1,000 Kids, it's suggested the number could even be as much as 800.
Given this staggeringly high figure, many of his offspring have been concerned about forming romantic relationships, in case they end up inadvertently falling for a half-sibling and committing incest.
As well as donating sperm through official channels, it is known that Meijer arranged to privately meet people looking to conceive after chatting to them online.
This caused a group of concerned parents to come together to form a foundation, the Donorkind Foundation, against Meijer, and launch a civil lawsuit against him.
One mother, known as Eva, who had a child using Meijer's sperm in 2018, said of the case: "If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children I would never have chosen him. If I think about the consequences this could have for my child I am sick to my stomach.
"Many mothers have told him he needs to stop, but nothing helps. So going to court is the only option I have to protect my child."
When Eva confronted Meijer over WhatsApp, it's alleged he replied with "the other donors aren't honest about their numbers either."
Mark de Hek, a lawyer acting on behalf of Donorkind, added to this with, "This behaviour is dangerous for the mental wellbeing and health of donor children. By preferring his reproductive urge, the donor is acting unlawfully.
"In addition, he violates the agreements with the clinics and with the prospective parents, because they trusted his promise that he would father a maximum of 25 children."
Where is Jonathan Meijer now?
In April of last year, Meijer was forbidden to donate any more sperm by a Dutch court and was ordered to write to clinics around the world that already held samples from him (some of which supply prospective parents in the UK and Ukraine), to explain they must be destroyed. One exception to this rule was that parents who already had children through Meijer's sperm, with plans for more in future, would still be able to access the stock.
The court also ordered that if Meijer was found breaking the ruling, he could be fined up to £88,000 per donation.
These days, there is a YouTube account attributed to Meijer in which videos are posted showing him discussing his sperm donor journey, how to get rid of demons and his thoughts on tradwives. It appears he is now travelling the world, with one video showing him speaking on a beach in Tanzania and another from Italy.
Addressing the Netflix documentary directly, Meijer said he declined to participate in the programme and that initially he was told the working title for the show was 'The Fertility Fraudster' – something he described as a title "he could not work with".
Commenting on the title of The Man with 1,000 Kids, Meijer called it "sensationalising and misleading", critiquing it for not making immediately clear that he is a donor. Meijer also said the number of '1,000' is not one he believes to be true.
"I want to talk freely, I want to have [a say] in my own story," he added, with regards to why he didn't agree to sign on to the Netflix project. "I've seen the trailer, somebody sent it to me because I don't watch Netflix. I don't have Netflix, I think it's evil [...] I live in nature, nature is important to me, not my story, something artificial. I help people, that's it. But I'm more sad that they decided to change the lives of all my donor children [...] It's not right to sensationalise. They should have asked all the parents and children [before making the documentary]."
Cosmopolitan asked Netflix whether or not all the families who'd received donations from Meijer were asked to be involved with the film, or warned about it. At the time of publication, we were yet to receive a response.
The Man with 1,000 Kids arrives to Netflix on 3 July
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
