Splash News
Would you feel some type of way if your ex’s new partner named their first son after him, even though your child is the first-born son?
That’s what our video producer came into our office asking after seeing the first front-facing picture of Ne-Yo and Crystal Renay’s son, Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr., which Renay shared yesterday:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDEyl0vTbiq/
What a cutie! He looks like a babydoll, right?
But back to the topic at hand.
When our producer asked the question, both editorial assistant Lauren Fox and I said no. The name was, in a way, up for grabs. So why not? But as I saw more and more pictures from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I did get an interesting energy from it all.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDEXEKEQmdB/
But I can see things from both sides.
You see, my brother’s son David* is a Jr., but he’s not the first-born son. Around the time David Jr. was born, no one on my brother’s side of the family thought anything of him taking his father’s name. The first-born son, Michael*, is a twin, so his mother called him something that sounded similar to his twin sister’s name–Michelle*. Therefore, David Jr. was available, and I guess my brother wanted his own namesake. My brother is the third David (his father and his grandfather were Davids too), so my sister-in-law decided to keep the tradition going.
Nevertheless, I do believe that that name choice was something that made the very real tension between the mother of Michael and Michelle, and my brother and his wife, that much more thick. And I do get the impression that it was something that Michael was a little hurt about as he got older. But I don’t think the intentions my brother and his wife had were negative. And for the most part, when women do decide to name the second son of a man after the child’s father, I don’t assume it’s usually meant to be something “na-na-na-boo-boo” petty.
However, everyone is different. So at the same time, if I put myself in the shoes of a mother, like Monyetta Shaw, I might feel a jolt. I might be upset about it. It’s not something to start a big quarrel over, but it would be interesting. Particularly in this situation, where people have accused Renay of flaunting her relationship with Ne-Yo in an attempt to make Shaw feel bad since she was so hurt by the end of their long-term relationship.
We know the whole story. We know about the promises. We know about the plan not to have any more kids and the burned fallopian tubes. We know about the breakup and the declaration that he wasn’t 100 percent ready to commit to being married. We know about the new relationship, the engagement, the wedding without the presence of Ne-Yo’s kids, and now, the newborn baby in the baby carriage. So for some, like our video producer, and those who actually took to Renay’s Instagram page during the name announcement to criticize her, you could have a reason to question intentions.
But then again, Ne-Yo’s children with Monyetta were given M names when they were born, which was obviously a nod to their mother:
With that being said, what do you make of all this? I’m just going to stay neutral because I don’t know how I would feel if were either woman. But I definitely hope that, behind the scenes for the Smiths and Shaw, things aren’t as shady as people think they are and seem for the sake of their children.
* indicates that names have been changed
