Congratulations are in order for singer Ne-Yo and wife Crystal Renay as they welcome a new addition to the family.
Renay announced on Instagram Friday that she had given birth to a girl named Isabella Rose Smith.
The mother posted a photo of herself in a hospital bed with Isabella’s hand close to hers and the proud father looking on. Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Smith, was smiling broadly. In the caption, Renay wrote that the baby came nearly a month before her scheduled due date.
“ISABELLA ROSE SMITH! ? God said don’t make plans honey,” Renay wrote. “She came 4 weeks early but right on time for mommy! Born at 11:11 am (lucky lil lady) 5 lbs 7 oz of perfection ?? My world is finally complete ??.”
Ne-Yo first publicly announced that the couple was expecting back in February, as reported by theGrio. Isabella is the couple’s third child together, and their first daughter. They share two sons, Shaffer Chimere Jr., 5, and Roman Alexander-Raj, 3.
This is also Ne-Yo’s fifth child and his second daughter, according to People. He has a daughter, Madilyn Grace, 10, and a son, Mason Evan, 9, from a previous relationship with Monyetta Shaw.
In fact, when he announced that he and Renay were expecting Isabella, he stated in his post that this was his last baby, using the hashtags “#Number5” and “#5thandFinal.”
The birth of Isabella is a culmination of the couple’s breakup and reconciliation. As previously reported by theGrio, Ne-Yo announced back in February 2020 that he and Renay were splitting after four years of marriage. However, that May he stated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused him to re-examine his priorities and attempt to rekindle things with his wife.
“I’ll say this. When you’re faced with a pandemic and you see people dying daily, a bunch of people dying all the time it really puts things into perspective for you,” he said. “Like, who’s there for you regardless of whatever. And I’m not talking love. Love is compartmentalized a lot of the times. I’m talking unconditional love.”
In a further gesture of his new sense of commitment to Renay, he proposed to her again on New Year’s Eve.
TheGrio reported that Ne-Yo posted a video of the couple bringing in 2021 when he said, “I need you to know there is nobody else on the face of the planet I would rather be with.”
He then pulled out an engagement ring and asked her to marry him again.
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