Halle Bailey had a very strong reason for keeping her pregnancy to herself.
The “Little Mermaid” star was among those honored at the 2024 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards on March 7, where she shared the story of why she decided to keep her pregnancy private.
“What was one of the biggest highlights of my life, and to be real, one of the biggest challenges, too, cannot compare to the biggest joy of my life, and that was becoming a mom to my perfect little angel, Halo,” Bailey, 23, said during her acceptance speech, shared by The Hollywood Reporter on Instagram.
She continued by saying that the lessons that she shared in her speech led her to “a place of protection.”
“There was no way in hell I was going to share the biggest joy of my world with anyone,” she said. “Halo was my gift. He is the greatest blessing, and I had no obligation to expose him, me, or my family to that unyielding spotlight.”
Bailey has continued to keep her baby out of the public eye since announcing his arrival. She’s only shared one photo of his tiny hand on social media.
On Jan. 6, the actor and singer announced that she and boyfriend DDG welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Halo.
The new mom shared the news on her Instagram, sharing a photo of her hand holding her baby’s tiny hand that had a gold bracelet with the name “Halo” on it.
“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.. welcome to the world my halo 🥰👼🏽 ✨the world is desperate to know you 😉🤣♥️,” the singer captioned her photo.
DDG shared a similar photo on his Instagram, adding, “my biggest blessing by far 👶🏽❤️ son son.. never been so in love 🥹 baby halo.”
While there had been speculation about Bailey’s pregnancy, she never confirmed that she was expecting a child.
The rapper had seemingly confirmed that he would be a father by sharing a photo of an ultrasound. However, he shared it on April 1, making people believe it was an April Fool’s joke.
“Can’t wait to be your dad,” he captioned the post.
Bailey and DDG first sparked romance rumors in January 2022, before making their red carpet debut together that June at the BET Awards.
Bailey told Essence in August 2022 that they had known each other since 2015, but later reconnected.
