‘Sperminator’ and NYC Council candidate Jonathan Rinaldi defends unorthodox modern family
Queens City Council candidate and serial sperm donor, Jonathan Rinaldi, is celebrating Father’s Day with a proud defense of his wildly unorthodox modern family.
After a November 2022 Humans of New York feature in which he boasts of having sex with “25 to 35%” of the sperm seekers because “it’s like fish. Fresh is better than frozen,” Rinaldi, 44, challenged any suspicions about his procreative choices.
“Donating just came to me through the grace of God. I am not ashamed and I stand on principles,” the Forest Hills pol running for council in District 24 told The Post ahead of Father’s Day.
The dad of 18 – 15 of whom were born in the past two years through sperm donation – said he was ready for a busy holiday.
“I’ll hang with my kids at Rockaway Beach,” he said of his eldest three – ages 18, 14, and 11 – from a previous marriage, adding he’s open to invites from 15 other moms who live “all over the East Coast … If I get invited, I’ll go.”
His baby mamas have nothing but glowing things to say about Rinaldi.
Zareena Walton, a Baltimore mom of a 2-year-old daughter — who she said has Rinaldi’s eyes — is “supportive” of her baby daddy’s political aspirations, but added: “I’m still processing him running for office.”
“I always wanted to be a mom, but I didn’t know how I was going to do it as a lesbian,” said the
37-year-old mom, who is in a same-sex relationship.
Walton, who works with teen juvenile delinquents, told The Post she’s ready for more kids – and knows she has a keeper with Rinaldi, whom she describes as “cool and down to earth.”
“I think about having more kids all the time,” she said. “I wouldn’t use nobody else.”
Jessica Martinez, a 36-year-old NJ middle school teacher and legal immigrant from Ecuador, told The Post she wanted a “known” donor because she wants her now-six-month-old daughter Isabella “to know who her father is.”
The former reality TV star of the DIY Network’s “Million Dollar Contractor,” has thrown his hat in the ring for a shot at repping his native eastern Queens.
As the sole Republican in the race, Rinaldi will head straight to the general election against longtime incumbent Democratic Council member Jim Gennaro.
“I don’t want these kids I made to grow up in a system where they’re being taught socialism,” Rinaldi said of his sperm-donated brood.
According to Rinaldi, he saves the women who’ve gotten his “superior” sperm — and with whom he seals the deal with a handshake — from spending thousands of dollars on sperm banks and fertility treatments.
“I don’t take a penny,” he said, adding one mom went through three unsuccessful and expensive rounds of IVF before Rinald’s sperm got her pregnant.
He also insists he takes health precautions — getting STD testing every three months.
“I’m not out there having casual sex with anybody,” he told The Post. “I’m not calling them to say, ‘Let’s have sex.’ I don’t want to be shady – just have sex with somebody and have a kid.”
“I’ve done every conceivable method of conception,” he declared but draws the line at certain seedy spaces.
“Some people will say, ‘Meet me at Grand Central’ to give them a sample,” he said, calling that a deal-breaker. “A lot of them want to do it in the bathroom or the car.”
Rinaldi said he wants to be wooed.
“Invite me over, let’s have dinner and talk. Let’s be an adult about it,” he said of his standards. “I’m not going into the bathroom of Starbucks. I’m not doing that… If you’re going to raise the child and have the resources, you can provide a comfortable setting.”
Rinaldi, who said he sacrificed all “parental rights or decisions,” makes sure all sperm recipients can financially support a child, especially since “it’s not feasible” for him to support his double-digit offspring.
“We abide by our word. It’s a very old-school way of doing things. We make an agreement and then stick to it,” he said.
And with kids “all over the place,” he insisted he doesn’t want any baby momma drama.
“I don’t want resentment or jealousy – you have to be transparent,” he said.
