Multi-platinum singer and songwriter Ne-Yo is headed back to court with the mother of his youngest children.
Days after being hit with a $3 million lien for back taxes by the Internal Revenue Service, new documents show the Grammy Award-winner is seemingly at odds with his ex-girlfriend Sade Bagnerise over the custody of their two sons.
Both children were conceived while the singer, whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, was still married to his ex-wife Crystal Renay. They spent seven years together after getting married in 2016. Their divorce was finalized on Jan. 26.
Early last month it was reported that Ne-Yo’s lawyers had submitted a paternity petition, a joint physical and legal custody request, and filed a child support claim in connection with his two sons with Sade.
In the filing, obtained by Radar Online, the singer claims that he is the father of two small children: Braiden, who was born in 2021, and Brixton, born in February 2023. However, Ne-Yo requested a paternity test done for the youngest boy.
The 43-year-old Grammy winner also wants the court not only to determine what his child support payments should be but also for a judge to mandate the oldest child’s surname to be legally changed to Smith, his last name.
The children’s mother has filed a countersuit, asking for full and primary physical custody of both children. Sade proposes that the celebrity dad only gets to see his children every other weekend and alternate holidays with her family.
In her proposal, Braiden and Brixton’s mother asked the judge to reimburse her for some out-of-pocket expenses spent on the two kids’ care like medical and life insurance, extracurricular activities, education, etc.
Sade did acquiesce to his request for shared legal custody. With that settled, both parents will have input on important decisions related to their son’s daily care.
The Instagram influencer seemed put off by Ne-Yo’s request for a DNA test, but she did share screenshots of DNA results that purportedly show that Ne-Yo — born Shaffer C. Smith — is the father of Brixton. Sade’s lawyers sharply noted that, “[Ne-Yo] is the biological father of the parties’ minor children.”
Fans responded to the latest news about Ne-Yo’s court battles in the comment section under The Jasmine Brand’s post. Some are grabbing their popcorn, calling it karma for cheating on his ex-wife. A few also brought up the mother of his two oldest children.
“What’s that saying… ‘God don’t like ugly.'”
“It didn’t take long for these tables to turn. Crystal has to be somewhere like (a smirk face emoji).”
“This [clown] emoji cheats on his wife and makes two side babies only to fight in court with the side chick over custody and paternity? I swear these men willingly puts themselves in these situations.”
“Karma is definitely spinning the block on him.”
“Actually Crystal AND Monyetta won, wow.”
Ne-Yo shares joint physical custody of his three children with Crystal: 7-year-old Shaffer Chimere Jr., 5-year-old Alexander-Raj, and 2-year-old Isabella Rose. In their divorce settlement, he was ordered to pay $12K a month in child support and $5,000 a month in alimony until 2026.
He also shares 12-year-old Madilyn Grace and 11-year-old Mason Evan with his ex-fiancée Monyetta Shaw.
The latest counterclaim has not yet been answered by Ne-Yo.
