It looks like Ne-Yo is headed back to court, and this time over the paternity of the children he welcomed while married to his ex-wife Crystal Smith. The former couple wed in 2016, split up in 2022, and finalized their divorce earlier this year.
During his marriage, the singer welcomed two boys with Instagram model Sade. Braiden was born in 2021, and Brixton was born in February of this year.
According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Ne-Yo is asking the court for parental rights for his two youngest children.
Per the outlet, the 43-year-old is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the boys. He hopes that they would have all the rights due to his heirs, as they were born outside of wedlock.
This news was quickly plastered over The Neighborhood Talk Instagram page, and plenty of commenters issued their hot takes on what it means that Ne-Yo is proclaiming his paternity of the boys now that he and Smith are officially divorced.
“I’m figuring he wanted to wait until his divorce was final before he openly acknowledged paternity for the kids so that it couldn’t be ‘used’ Against him in some way.”
“If you hadn’t been caught/ divorced would you want custody????? You were going to keep screwing her and paying her. So KTSE.”
“Why The Doubt …. If You Had Doubt About The First Why Have Another?”
A few individuals even suggested that Ne-Yo was “playing chess” and only claiming his children to reduce the child support he was instructed to pay Smith.
“That boy playing chess he’s establishing paternity so he doesn’t have to pay as much to Crystal.”
“He doing that to reduce child support he paying crystal. More kids less child support going to one parents other kids have to be taking care of.”
After seeing fans’ commentary, Sade returned to her Instagram Story to share a screenshot of DNA results that purportedly show that Ne-Yo — born Shaffer C. Smith — is the father of Brixton.
“Aht aht..that’s not what’s tea,” she wrote over the photo. “But if everybody keep trying to tell my story I’m give the most epic story time you ever had,” she wrote over the photo.
Also, in February, Ne-Yo and Smith finalized their divorce following their split in August 2022. In a lengthy rant made on social media, the former video vixen accused her ex-husband of multiple infidelities, and of fathering a child outside of their marriage.
For their settlement, the record producer was ordered to pay his ex-wife $12,000 monthly in child support and $5,000 a month in alimony until 2016.
The two share three kids together; 7-year-old Shaffer Chimere Jr., 3-year-old Alexander-Raj, and 1-year-old Isabella Rose.
Ne-Yo also has two older children with ex-fiancée Monyetta Shaw; 12-year-old Madilyn Grace and 11-year-old Mason Evan.
