Halle Bailey is a mom! The Little Mermaid star revealed the birth of her first child, a son, on Saturday. She shares the baby boy with her boyfriend, rapper Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr., aka DDG.
“Even though we’re a few days into the new year, the greatest thing that 2023 could have done for me, was bring me my son,” Bailey wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of the newborn’s hand wearing a gold nameplate bracelet. “Welcome to the world my halo 🥰👼🏽 ✨the world is desperate to know you 😉🤣♥️”
On his page, DDG shared the same image with the caption, “my biggest blessing by far 👶🏽❤️ son son.. never been so in love 🥹 baby halo.”
He also added the post to his Instagram story with the note, “The flyest kid in the universe has arrived.”
Halle, 23, and DDG, 26, have been linked since January 2022, confirming their relationship publicly two months later.
The couple never publicly announced the pregnancy, with Halle camouflaging her baby bump in an elaborate ruffled gown at the premiere of her film, The Color Purple, just last month.
The news of the birth comes more than four months after her older sister, Chloë Bailey, appeared to respond to speculation that her sister was pregnant in an Instagram live. Several outfit choices made by the younger Bailey fueled fans’ belief that the singer was hiding her pregnancy.
“Y’all better keep my sister’s name out your mouth,” Chloë quipped, which many interpreted as a response to the ongoing rumors. “Thank you. Amen, hallelujah.” she continued. “‘Bout to get me riled the hell up. Anyways…”
Somebody off-camera chimed in by stating, “We don’t play about Halle.” To which Chloë responded, “No. Like, what the heck? Period.”
DDG is best known for kicking off his YouTube channel in 2014 before beginning to make music in 2016. He signed to Epic Records in 2018, and founded his own record label, Zooted Music, with longtime managers Eric O’Connor and Dimitri Hurt in 2020.
Although Halle has shared her preference to keep her personal life private, and she and DDG have openly praised one another in interviews and shared affectionate videos on social media, their relationship has come under scrutiny and been the subject of rumors and breakup speculation since going public.
The rapper faced criticism after premiering his song, “Famous,” in July. In the song, DDG raps about his own insecurities while in a relationship with a high-profile woman, appearing to shame Halle over “kissing” and “holding hands” with a co-star while filming.
The artist also grapples with the attention he says his girlfriend receives from other men in real life, saying he wants to leave her but is “too attached” and calling her “the girl that I claim.”
Notably, Halle was photographed holding hands with her Little Mermaid co-star, Jonah Hauer-King, who played Prince Eric, on the red carpet at the London premiere of their film back in May. The pair’s close friendship was highlighted during their promotional tour of the film and made waves with fans who praised their chemistry on social media.
The song’s release caused fans to recall an incident when X (formerly Twitter) users claimed to expose DDG’s alleged “burner” account, which was responding negatively to tweets about Halle and Hauer-King. The rumors resulted in the social media blog The Pop Tingz sharing a report about the couple’s speculated split, taking a dig at the Michigan-born personality by describing him as an “E-list rapper.”
While neither star publicly addressed the rumors outright — although the rapper made a TikTok video on how “people” want him to react — DDG dismissed notions of a breakup by showing support for the actress during a live stream, where he watched Halle’s live performance of The Little Mermaid‘s “Part of Your World” during an episode of American Idol. In a video of the live stream, DDG sings along to the lyrics and does his best to match Halle’s vocal runs.
Despite the rumors, Halle has never wavered in her public praise for her boyfriend. The Color Purple star spoke with ET at the launch of the Pandora’s Lab Grown Diamond District during New York Fashion Week, where she chatted about the joys of being in love as a young woman.
Halle wasn’t interested in addressing the public’s opinions on her relationship with the media personality and rapper. When asked about her beau, she gushed that “there’s lots of things [about DDG] that make me so happy.”
“I think what’s really cool about love and being young is that you could just live and have a good time,” she says. “But, my personal life is something I keep sacred.”
She shared similar sentiments in a recent interview for Cosmopolitan‘s STYLE issue, where Halle confessed that her relationship with DDG is more than just puppy love for her.
“All musical inspiration really just comes from life experiences. Love has been a really big one for me too, because that’s something I’m experiencing for the first time, and it’s, like, ‘whoa’ in your brain. It’s just fireworks, a spark for creativity. You know, you have puppy love experiences, you think that’s love. But this is my first deep, deep, real love,” she told the magazine.
“I just live my life the way I want to live it and turn off my phone if I don’t like what people are saying online,” she added. “But I also do think what I’m going through as a young woman right now, it’s really good fuel for me creatively. So I focus on putting whatever life experience I’m going through in the art that I’m creating.”
“It’s really funny how people look at you [as] still being this young girl, still being this innocent, untouchable thing,” Halle previously told Glamour in May. “I appreciate that, as I venture into adulthood, I’m able to make my own decisions. For my peace and my sanity, I have to keep that private.”
Congratulations to the new parents!
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Carol Dennis is an entertainment aficionado with an eye for all things pop culture. She dives into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, from movie premieres to music festivals. Carol’s passion for storytelling extends beyond her reporting, as she’s an aspiring screenwriter in her free time.
