Ne-Yo declared legal dad of his youngest children

Ne-Yo has been declared the legal father of his two youngest children.

The 43-year-old Closer singer, given name Shaffer Chimere Smith, has sons Braiden, two, and seven-month-old Brixton with his ex-girlfriend, Sade Bagnerise, 35, and filed to establish his paternity of the boys in May. His children will now have their last names legally changed from Bagnerise to Smith, TMZ reports.

The outlet added that Ne-Yo wanted Braiden and Brixton to have access to his inheritance, despite him no longer dating their mother. Dad of seven Ne-Yo also has daughter Madilyn Grace, 12, and son Mason, 11, with ex-fiancee Monyetta Shaw, and Shaffer Chimere Jr, seven, Roman Alexander-Raj, five, and Isabella Rose, two, with ex-wife Crystal Renay. The pair married in February 2016, but the on-off couple divorced two years later, before marrying again in April 2022. In July 2022, she accused Ne-Yo of cheating on her with "numerous" women and filed for divorce, and alleged the singer had fathered a child with another woman.

Two months after Ne-Yo and Renay finalised their divorce in January, the performer sought parental rights for Braiden, who was born in 2021, and Brixton, who arrived in February. Renay cited his alleged infidelity with Bagnerise as the reason for their split and called their marriage "irretrievably broken with no hope for reconciliation".

A day before her filing, Renay accused Ne-Yo of cheating in a lengthy post on social media, saying she endured "eight years of lies and deception" throughout their relationship.

"To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist. I will no longer lie to the public or pretend that this is something it isn't," she wrote.

Ne-Yo hit back on social media, saying: "For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors.

"Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family's privacy at this time."