Earlier today (July 7), Ne-Yo shared some photos on social media featuring him and his seven children. His post gave fans a rare glimpse at the artist’s family, as he’s rarely seen alongside all of his kids at once. Though several commenters raced to the comments section to dote on the father, others were critical of the size of his family. His post even sparked comparisons between him and Nick Cannon, who is famously a father of 12. Ne-Yo shares two children with his former fiancée Monyetta Shaw, Madilyn and Mason. He also has three children with his ex-wife Crystal Renay, Isabella, Shaffer, and Roman. He shares his two youngest children, Braiden and Brixton, with his ex Sade Bagnerise. Allegedly, he fathered his children with Bagnerise while still married to Renay, which she would later cite as the reason for their divorce.
“He trying to catch up with Eddie Murphy & Nick Cannon,” one Instagram user commented on the post. “Close to [Nick Cannon],” another notes alongside laughing emojis. One Twitter user chimed in to defend Ne-Yo. “People comparing him to Nick Cannon. Nick Cannon has 12 kids with six women, 9 of whom were born over a 3-year period. Nick is in his own league,” they wrote.
Last month, Ne-Yo filed for joint custody of his two kids with Bagnerise. She agreed to allow Ne-Yo to gain partial custody of the children in exchange for child support payments. “He has always been physically, financially, and emotionally responsible for both Braiden and Brixton from the moment he found out about the first pregnancy,” Bagnerise later said about the singer. “He be scandalous AF lmao but he does right by all of his kids,” she added.
Although several users criticized the singer for choosing to have so many kids, others are just happy he’s making an effort to be a good father. “I’m a FATHER before I’m anything else,” Ne-Yo captioned his post, “Not money, not fame, not even the love of the craft. I do this for THEM.“