Kyle Dean Massey and Husband Taylor Frey Welcome Baby Girl Rafa via Surrogate: 'It's Instant Love'

The couple's surrogate Kayde Mason tells PEOPLE, "Passing her off to her daddies was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life"

Kyle Dean Massey and Taylor Frey are officially daddies!

The actors, who wed in October 2016, welcomed their first baby, daughter Rafa Massey-Frey, via surrogate on Sunday, Oct. 31, at University of Tennessee Medical, Labor and Delivery, they announce exclusively with PEOPLE. The newborn was one week past her due date and weighed 9 lbs., 9 oz.

"Seeing our daughter's face for the first time is something I will never forget. It's instant love," Massey, 39, tells PEOPLE. "On top of that, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people who contributed to our journey to parenthood, our wonderful egg donor, our physician Dr. Guy Ringler, all of our attorneys, especially Thomas Gleeson. And of course our surrogate and her family who gave so much of herself to give us the most magnificent gift."

Adds Frey, 32, "I have been fortunate in my life to experience many things and many feelings, but nothing can compare to the immediate and unconditional love I feel for my daughter. It is as if with one single look into her eyes the rest of world has melted away. She has stolen my heart forever and changed my perspective on life as a whole. Everyone told me it would be wonderful, but I had no idea it would be to this degree. I stand in awe of my surrogate, and what she was capable and willing to do for us. I watched her labor in tears of gratitude."

Massey and Frey co-founded Elevate, their own IVF and egg donor agency that provides an empathetic approach to family planning. They also have the Forming Families Foundation, a nonprofit that helps couples who need financial assistance along their IVF or adoption journeys.

"I have assisted thousands of wonderful people in bringing their children into the world," says Frey, "and now that I finally have experienced this myself, my desire to keep going and help more and more is an even more deeply rooted desire. I want anyone who wants this to be able to have it despite any challenges they may be facing with fertility."

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Their surrogate Kayde Mason has become somewhat of a TikTok viral star while she highlighted her surrogacy journey for the past nine months.

She tells PEOPLE, "Surrogacy is a beautiful thing. I feel honored that Taylor and Kyle entrusted me with the safekeeping and growing of their precious girl. Rafa is perfection and I will always cherish the time I got to spend with her as my belly buddy. Passing her off to her daddies was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life and there couldn't be two people more ready and deserving of fatherhood."

When announcing that they were expecting back in April, Massey told PEOPLE at the time, "Knowing from a young age that I didn't fit the typical mold, the opportunity to become a parent is something I had put out of my head for a long time. But now, I'm excited to be an example of what a new-American family can look like."

Frey said at the time, "I think for a long time as a gay guy I told myself that kids aren't what I wanted because it didn't seem attainable. I am just grateful for modern medicine, but even more so for generous women who sign up to help couples like us. We are so lucky."

Kyle Dean Massey and Husband Taylor Frey Welcome First Baby via Surrogate
Courtesy of Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey

Back in April, Massey added that they were "bursting with excitement" as they prepared for their baby.

"The wonderful thing about building a family through IVF is that there are no mistakes," he explained. "Each step of this process is deliberate and every child that results from this process has been dreamt of for many years. To say we're excited would be an understatement."

"It has taken many years for us to get to this point and we are forever indebted to the magical team of people that have helped us along this journey: most notably our wonderful egg donor and our incredible surrogate," continued Massey. "Without these two women, this would never have been possible for us."

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