Wayne Brady shared some surprising news on the premiere of his Freeform reality show, Wayne Brady: The Family Remix. The comedian and television host revelaed that he is now a father to a newborn son named Val.
The announcement came as a shock, even to Brady himself, who admitted, “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.”
Now at 52, Brady is learning to navigate the challenges of co-parenting with his ex-girlfriend Tina, with whom he had an on-and-off relationship during the pandemic.
Brady candidly expressed his concerns, asking, “How do I co-parent with this person that I am not with and make this work?”
The news of Val’s arrival also stirred mixed feelings among Brady’s close-knit family.
His ex-wife, Mandie Taketa, and their 21-year-old daughter, Maile, shared their initial reservations.
Taketa, 48, openly acknowledged her strained relationship with Tina, saying that they “don’t get along.”
She further detailed the timeline leading up to the pregnancy, explaining, “Tina and Wayne had been broken up a year. Then [his] grandma Val passes away, so we go to her funeral in the Virgin Islands, then we come back.
“Something happened — you fill in the blank,” Taketa continued. “Then, two weeks later, we get a phone call from Tina that she’s pregnant with Wayne’s baby.”
Maile, who was kept in the dark about the pregnancy due to her feelings towards Tina, initially struggled with the news of her half-brother’s arrival, worried about her father and skeptical of Tina’s intentions.
“Tina does not live her life in complete honesty,” Maile said. “The string of events is suspicious. I don’t enjoy her presence.”
Brady, who came out as pansexual last year, was previously married to Taketa from 1999 to 2007. They welcomed their daughter, Maile, in 2003 and split a few years after. Taketa has since had another child, Sundance, with her partner Jason Michael Fordham.
