Halle Bailey Welcomes Baby: What to Know About Her DDG Boyfriend

A baby is now part of Halle Bailey’s world.

The “Little Mermaid” star announced the birth of her first child with her boyfriend and YouTube creator DDG in an Instagram post shared on Saturday.

“Even though we are just a few days away from the new year, the best thing 2023 could have done for me was bring me my son…welcome to the world my halo 🥰👼🏽 ✨,” Bailey captioned the photo of herself. her holding her baby’s hand while he wore a gold bracelet that says “HALO.” She continued: “the world is desperate to meet you 😉🤣♥️.”

The 23-year-old singer first sparked speculation about her pregnancy in September at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, where she and her sister Chloe Bailey served as presenters. Sources told Page Six that the singer and actress “stayed away from the pink carpet so as not to be photographed.”

“When he was inside, he was very conscious of the way he hugged and who he gave them to,” Page Six reported.

Bailey welcomed her son more than a year after she and DDG, 26, officially became a couple in 2022. Since then, they’ve been through a lot, from debuting at Fashion Week to facing backlash over DDG’s rap career.

This is everything we know about the relationship of new parents.

Who is DDG?

DDG, whose real name is Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr., is a 26-year-old YouTube content creator who grew up in Pontiac, Michigan. He began his YouTube career in 2014, gaining followers for his personal vlogs and prank videos.

After dropping out of Central Michigan University during his sophomore year, DDG turned his attention to rapping and songwriting. He released his first single, “Balenciaga,” in 2016. Two years later, he released his first album, “Take Me Serious.”

“It’s harder to come from YouTube to be like an artist, it’s unheard of to be real,” he told YouTube interviewer DJVlad in 2018.

DDG then took his music career into his own hands and founded his record label Zooted Music in 2020, Forbes reported. In recent years, the YouTube star-turned-rapper has also gained more ground in the rap space, partnering with more established names like Blueface, Lil Yachty and Gunna.

In 2023, DDG earned a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 music list.

How did DDG meet Halle Bailey?

Halle Bailey, who forms the R&B duo Chloe x Halle with her older sister Chloe, told Essence in August 2022 that she first noticed DDG in 2015.

“I grew up on YouTube and I was always watching young black creators and they were constantly inspiring me,” he told the magazine. “He was one of them.”

As Halle’s music and acting careers blossomed, she said, she “completely forgot” about the young rapper, until he started releasing music. The “Do It” artist said that her relationship with DDG began with a couple of private messages.

Halle Bailey and DDG at the US premiere of “Avatar: The Way of Water” in December 2022.

(Jordan Strauss/Invision/Associated Press)

Halle and DDG first sparked dating rumors in January 2022 and then made their red carpet debut at the 2022 BET Awards that same year. Since then, they have shared their romance on social media and at public events, including the Gucci show at Milan Fashion Week in September.

When Essence asked in 2022 if Halle was in love with the rapper, she said, “Yes. “I sure am.”

DDG got mad at Halle’s older sister Ski Bailey

In February, things seemed difficult for Halle and DDG. Breakup rumors surfaced when fans noticed that the rapper had unfollowed Halle and deleted photos of her from her Instagram account. He also said in a tweet that he was already eliminated: “All these girls are the same, it’s nothing strange.”

After getting hot, DDG tweeted“The Internet is so gullible.”

Amid the divided speculation, Halle’s older sister Ski reportedly criticized DDG for his cryptic tweet. “Halle is not like those you have been with. You will not treat her like you have treated others,” she said in an Instagram story that she has since expired.

“You’re not going to try to go on social media and criticize her, and imply or post something that makes it seem like she was doing something she wasn’t doing,” he continued. “You have to calm down”.

Shortly after her comments spread, Ski walked back her video and reportedly posted a statement about her sister’s relationship with DDG on her Instagram Story. In the since-deleted post, Ski said “nothing is happening” between Halle and DDG.

Three months after breakup speculation, Halle confirmed in a TikTok that she was still with her boyfriend. The clip, featuring a remix of Beyoncé saying “I’m going to see my husband”, saw the Disney star jump for joy at seeing DDG and kissing him.

What is the drama of ‘Famous’?

Halle and DDG’s relationship was going swimmingly; then the rapper released “Famous.” Just a few months after Halle’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” premiered in May 2023, DDG seemingly channeled cinematic enthusiasm for his controversial song.

DDG apparently rapped about his relationship with actress Halle Bailey in his song “Famous.”

(Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)

In the explicit song, DDG raps, “The hardest thing I ever did was fall in love with a famous bitch.” If that wasn’t enough of a nod to his girlfriend, DDG’s lyrics also seemingly hint at Halle’s Ariel falling for co-star Jonah Hauer-King’s Prince Eric (“Filmin’ a movie now you kissing dudes”) and the time of him in the press. turns (“Why are you all holding hands in the photo?”).

DDG and his relationship with Bailey quickly drew criticism online. An X user criticized DDG and his “shameful pranks“, while another saying “The whole song is the nastiest thing he could have done” to his girlfriend.

Amid the backlash, DDG said Halle heard the song and said, “It’s just music.”

“Sometimes I exaggerate situations on purpose for the sake of the song. “I think I’m going to stop trolling,” the rapper told Uproxx. “They can’t stand my mood, so I’ll just relax, put on some music, and let it happen.”

Chloe said she just wants her little sister to be happy.

Halle Bailey, left, and her sister Chloe Bailey at the MusiCares Person of the Year in Los Angeles.

(Chris Pizzello / Invisión / Associated Press)

Halle’s “Ungodly Hour” collaborator Chloe Bailey expressed her love and support for her younger sister’s relationship with DDG. During an Instagram Live in September, the 25-year-old singer said she’s not the only one who’s been “so happy.”

“Halle and Darryl are very happy. She’s been so sweet and everything,” she said, according to Blavity. “If I fuck with Darryl, I don’t care what anyone says. You all don’t see behind the scenes. I love them, I really love them.”

Chloe, now a new aunt, shared similar sentiments during an interview with Capital Xtra. “I’m a big sister, she’s my little baby. “I’m always protective, but he makes her happy and she’s happy, so that’s all I care about,” she said. saying.

For Halle, DDG’s romance is a “deep and real love”

Halle Bailey and DDG pose for photographers at the Glamor Women of the Year Awards 2023 in London.

(Scott Garfitt/Invision/Associated Press)

The same month she and DDG sparked pregnancy rumors, Halle said her relationship with the rapper was more than just puppy love.

The “Color Purple” actor and singer told Cosmopolitan that being with DDG “is my first deep, deep, real love.” He also said that the love he feels for DDG has manifested itself in more ways than one.

“This has been a really beautiful transformative moment for me. “I have all this new material to write about,” Halle told the magazine. “It’s like, ‘What the hell did I just experience and what did I go through?’ A whirlwind of amazement. “You never know what you are capable of until you overcome it.”

She added: “I got very creatively inspired and then from there I fell in love.”

The musicians’ love inspired more than just their work, as the pair recreated high-profile pop culture couples for Halloween, including Tupac and Janet Jackson in “Poetic Justice” and Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.

DDG defends Halle after alleged ‘racist’ encounter at a Los Angeles nail salon

Just days before Thanksgiving, DDG took out his claws at a Los Angeles nail salon and accused its staff of “racist” behavior toward his girlfriend. The rapper wrote in a tweet that he has since been deleted: “This place [the Perfect Nails salon] He is racist towards black people. They kicked my girlfriend out while she was getting her nails done” and she urged her followers to review the salon on Yelp.

After taking the hit on Yelp, a woman who identified herself as Leyla, the owner of the salon, shared her own account of the alleged incident and responded to the negative reviews. The woman did not name Halle, but said her client asked to reschedule an appointment for her and her sister 30 minutes later than originally planned. Leyla told them that that would not be possible since her classroom was full for that day.

Instead, Halle was 15 minutes late for the 3:00 pm appointment, which Leyla was fine with, but after 20 minutes Chloe still hadn’t arrived, and Leyla informed Halle that they wouldn’t be able to see Chloe because They had other things. clientele. Leyla said Chloe ended up being 35 minutes late for the appointment.

“There was nothing dramatic, there is nothing wrong,” Leyla said. “We were not rude, we simply refused service to a customer who was 35 minutes late.”

Halle shared her version of events on several expired videos on their social media accounts. The actress and singer claimed that she and the owner agreed that it would be okay if her sister was 15 to 20 minutes late for her 3:10 p.m. appointment. According to Halle, the owner of Perfect Nails kept asking about her sister’s tardiness and He said they had a reservation for that day.

Halle said the owner eventually canceled Chloe’s appointment and they started an argument. Halfway through Halle’s treatment, Chloe arrived, but by that point Halle had had enough and she decided the sisters would take her business elsewhere.

“I just said [the salon worker] “That was unacceptable and rude because I have been a loyal customer,” he said. “That really disappointed me.”

After the fallout, Halle allegedly responded to the headlines on Instagram by writing, “Y’all, it’s not that serious, I was just explaining my day on Snapchat,” according to Complex. That was not the case for Perfect Nails, which she responded by stating on her own Instagram Story, which has since expired: “Our business [is] spoiled!.”

DDG overcame the nail salon scandal in other ways: by spreading positivity on social media. In a tweet, he wrote“Being nice to people is free… it’s hard to be mean.”

“Let’s spread more love and positivity around the world,” he said. saying in another tweet.

Times staff writer Carlos De Loera contributed to this report.