Wayne Brady says publicly coming out as pansexual has helped him become a better father.
In an interview with People, the Let’s Make a Deal host said that being open about his sexuality has helped him feel more comfortable in his day-to-day life.
“I feel lighter, because I’m me. That lets me be a better actor. Lets me be a better performer onstage. Lets me be a better dad. Lets me be a better partner to someone someday. I’m happier, I’m brighter.”
He shared that it hasn’t helped him in the dating department, however.
“It hasn’t changed in the big sense of, ‘Oh I’m out dating and whatnot,’ because really, I’m kind of [keeping] to myself,” Brady said.
Brady shares daughter Maile Masako Brady with his ex-wife, Mandie Taketa.
In 2024, he learned that he had fathered a son, Val Henry, with an ex named Tina, whom he had an on-and-off relationship with during the pandemic. He addressed the revelation on his reality series Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.
“I was floored,” Brady said at the time. “Was I happy? No, because I was in shock.”
Since then, Brady has fully embraced becoming a father again.
“I’m a proud father,” Brady said in a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Anyone that knows me with Maile knows that, anyone that sees me with Sonny knows that. I love kids. My son Val is a blessing. And maybe his mother and I are not together in that way, but just like with Mandie, we’re going to co-parent.”
Brady said documenting the experience on his show was important to him.
“As much as people have been inspired by my co-parenting journey with Mandie, now they get to see somebody who at 50 can be a father again and approach it with, ‘I’m in it and I’m proud of my son.’ I want him to know that there’s no shame attached to him, so I’m going to speak out loud about him.”
