Usher talks about the difficulties of co-parenting a child with a chronic illness
The Grammy-winning singer shared how it's important for him and his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, to find common ground when it comes to managing their older son's Type 1 diabetes.
Usher has a confession about co-parenting a child with a chronic illness: It’s not always easy.
According to People, the Grammy-winning singer, 45, and his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, learned years ago that their son Usher Raymond V, now 15, had Type 1 diabetes. The disease — from which over 12 percent of African Americans suffer — prevents the pancreas from producing enough insulin, necessitating insulin injections to help maintain the body’s normal levels of blood sugar.Â
“From the moment that Type 1 diabetes was a conversation, it was a re-acclimation to life,” Usher shared. “The life that we knew changed.”
The 2024 Super Bowl halftime show headliner said staying on top of their son’s disease takes their teamwork, their communication and their son’s endocrinologist, whom he called their “mutual ground.”
“It comes with a great deal of consideration and commitment in itself,” he noted, “because we’re all managing to make certain that my child makes the right decisions to have a happy, healthy life.”
Usher and Foster divorced in 2009 after two years of marriage. The couple also share a 14-year-old son, Naviyd Eli Raymond.
While they may have different experiences, he said if the two can find a way to meet in the middle to make the appropriate judgments while being thoughtful of one another — or at least sensitive to the things important to each other — ideally, the result is “success for everybody.”
Usher recently collaborated with Sanofi’s One Pledge Challenge to spread the word about early identification of Type 1 diabetes, something he wishes he had known about years ago.
“If I had honestly prepared myself better,” he said, “I would’ve appreciated it.”
The current headliner of Las Vegas’ expanded “Usher: My Way” residency — who hopes his children “see me as the dad that I didn’t have,” he said, according to People — has made finding normalcy a goal.
“It’s been a task. It is very complicated because kids, by the way, will find a way to work you against each other,” Usher contended. “You have to be mindful of what you say and that they’re always listening and greater than that. They’re always watching.”
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