Wayne Brady found himself blindsided when someone he dated on and off revealed that she was pregnant with his child.
The 52-year-old entertainer opened up about the unexpected turn of events on the premiere of his new reality show, Wayne Brady: The Family Remix, on Wednesday, July 24.
“When I first found out … I was floored. A 51-year-old dad? I didn’t see it coming. So, was I happy? No. Because I was in shock,” he told his viewers.
“How do I co-parent with this person that I am not with and make this work?” he wondered.
Wayne Brady spoke about the new addition to his family on the premiere of his new reality show, Wayne Brady: The Family Remix
Image credits: mrbradybaby
Image credits: mrbradybaby
The Let’s Make a Deal host, 52, revealed that his ex, Tina, told him she was bearing his child after they dated “on and off” during the pandemic.
“I was shocked,” he told People. “I asked the silly question that I think many men since the beginning of time have asked. ‘How?’ You know how! So get past it,” he continued.
The news from Tina came just weeks after the improv icon and his family returned from the Virgin Islands after his grandmother Valerie’s funeral. He named the baby boy Val Henry after his birth.
Brady is also a father to 21-year-old daughter, Maile, whom he shares with his ex-wife and best friend, Mandie Taketa, 48.
The 52-year-old entertainer said he was in “shock” after his ex-girlfriend, Tina, told him she was pregnant with his child
Image credits: mrbradybaby
The comedian said he is determined to ensure that Val feels just as loved and valued as Maile.
“I never want Val to grow up thinking that he should be ashamed or look back and go, ‘Oh, my dad didn’t want me,’ or he was ashamed of me. Because I want him, in his own way, to know that I love him as much as I love Maile, who is of me and that I had a part in creating. So I had to do that work,” he told the outlet.
Wayne and Tina currently do not live close by. However, he tries to spend as much time as possible with his son. He also FaceTimes every day to see him.
“I’m super sweet because it’s the little guy,” he said. “It’s a different type of parenting than when Maile was born because [Mandie and I] were together… It’s a completely different form of co-parenting.”
The comedian is also a father to a 21-year-old daughter, Maile, whom he shares with his ex-wife and best friend, Mandie Taketa, 48
Image credits: mrbradybaby
“I’m going to nurture him, and I’m going to let him flower and let him do his thing,” he continued. “He will have boundaries, but he’s never going to grow up feeling like he can’t talk. To this day, I can recall when I know that I’m not supposed to speak. I can feel the tightness right here when I know that I’m supposed to just sit down and be quiet — and I don’t want that for him.”
Although Wayne and Mandie divorced in 2008, they remain incredibly close. The former couple maintains a blended family with Mandie’s partner, Jason Fordham.
The family is now creating a new reality show together called Wayne Brady: The Family Remix, which promises an intimate look into their lives.
The new show, Wayne Brady: The Family Remix, will give viewers a look into the actor’s blended family with his ex-wife and her partner
Image credits: mrbradybaby
For Mandie, having a blended family like theirs was not “weird” at all, and she found it extremely normal.
“Growing up in Hawaii, it’s very community-based, family-based, so it’s not weird to me to love people that love you back and that care for you and keep you safe,” she told NBC News. “This dynamic was not weird to me until other people started telling me that it was weird, like at parent-teacher conferences. It’s what feels good.”
“I wasn’t from a big family. So what’s normal to me is the family that you choose,” Wayne said
Image credits: People
Her ex-husband and witty comedian chimed in, saying, “It wasn’t until I met Mandie and her family and started calling her dad, Ron, dad that I realized that I truly didn’t know what it meant to be loved and accepted for who you are. I never knew what that felt like because I wasn’t from a big family. So what’s normal to me is the family that you choose.”
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