R&B star Ne-Yo was both praised and pummeled by fans when he gave his four million Instagram followers a rare glimpse of him with his seven children.
Ne-Yo has two children, Madilyn and Mason, with former fiancée Monyetta Shaw. He had three more with ex-wife Crystal Renay named Isabella, Shaffer, and Roman. Finally, the 43-year-old “Because of You” crooner also shares his two youngest children, Braiden and Brixton, with his ex-girlfriend Sade Bagnerise. Renay claims that Ne-Yo had the latter two children during their marriage, which is what she cited as the reason for their divorce.
Ne-Yo proclaimed that he is a father before any other of his possessions and career pursuits in his post.
“I’m a father before I’m anything else,” Ne-Yo captioned. “Not money, not fame, not even the love of the craft. I do this for them.”
While he has been extolled by some for providing abundantly for his children, Ne-Yo also was lambasted by others.
“He trying to catch up with Eddie Murphy and Nick Cannon,” one Instagram user said facetiously on the Neighborhood Talk post.
“Close to [Nick Cannon],” another opined. A third commentor, however, surmised that Ne-Yo is not in Cannon’s league when it comes to being a prolific progenitor.
“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,”
Ne-Yo has supporters very close to him. In June 2023, Ne-Yo filed for joint custody of his two kids with Bagnerise. She testified before the media that
“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, according to HotNewHipHop. “He can be scandalous AF lmao but he does right by all of his kids.”
