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Wayne Brady divorced his wife 13 years ago. Here’s why he’s co-parenting her new baby.

As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. The more loving adults in a child’s life the better chance they have to grow up to be healthy and happy. That’s why it’s pretty wonderful that Wayne Brady, one of America’s most versatile performers and personalities, has said that he’s going to help raise his ex-wife’s newly adopted son.

To some, it sounds a little strange that a man would volunteer to help raise his ex-wife’s child, especially when she has a boyfriend at home. But Brady, his ex-wife Mandy Taketa, and her boyfriend, Jason Michael Fordham, have a different relationship than most people in a similar situation.

Brady and Taketa were married in 1999, had a daughter, Maile, in 2003, and were divorced in 2008. But the former couple learned to put their differences aside to raise their daughter and have since grown to be best friends. So, given their relationship and the fact that Taket’s new son will be Brady’s daughter’s brother, it’s understandable for him to play a big role in his life.

Brady admits that getting to where they are now wasn’t easy.

“It’s not easy, that’s the thing. … You see the end result,” he told Us magazine. [People say], ‘Oh, you guys are aspirational.’ Well, if you knew the fighting and the therapy and the tears and the work that it takes to make this look easy, then we’ve earned the right to co-parent together and we’ve earned the right to have a blended family. … It’s all about the work.”

The three are so close that Brady quarantined with them during the early days of the pandemic.

“People ask that like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s so crazy.’ No, it’s not crazy. Like I said, [you have to] spend time with the family that you love,” he told Us. “My ex-wife is my best friend and she’s my family and her boyfriend is part of that family. So who else would I spend this time with? … I’m very fortunate that we have that type of relationship.”

Taketa announced that she and Fordham adopted a baby boy named Sundance-Isamu last month on Instagram. In the post, she mentioned that Brady would have a big role in the child’s life.

She also thanked the child’s birth mother, Ana, for the amazing gift she gave to their family.

“Ana, thank you for making me a mommy again along with you. Thank you for blessing Jason with the gift of fatherhood, making Maile a big sister, & Wayne a godfather. He’s going to spoil Sunny like crazy!” she added.

The next day, Brady posted a video holding the baby and announced his new title, “Duncle.”

“This is my godbaby, but He’s gonna call me Duncle, ‘Daddy-Uncle’ because I plan on being around and doing all that stuff,” Brady shared in an Instagram video.

Duncle Wayne later posted a photo of the two in matching Versace outfits.

Kudos to Brady for stepping up and giving young Sunny another great role model to guide him through life. He’s also shown a lot of people that having an ex doesn’t necessarily mean making an enemy. It could be an opportunity to create a beautiful friendship.

Source: Upworthy
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