Comedian and Atlanta radio personality Rickey Smiley has opened up about how he only recently discovered that he is the father of 5-year-old twin daughters. The 56-year-old revealed the completely unexpected news on the Smitty and Dee podcast.
According to USA Today, this revelation comes after his 32-year-old son, Brandon Smiley, died of a heroin overdose in January 2023.
The radio host talked about how, in January 2024, he received a call from an ex-girlfriend, with whom he is still acquainted, informing him he was the father of her twin girls.
He said his ex had gone to court with one of her former boyfriends and found out that Rickey was the owner of the twins.
Rickey acknowledged that finding out he had little twin girls was unexpected, but that it was a very memorable event for him, particularly while he grieved the death of his adult son.
He told the podcast host, Toni Dee, “When I tell you, that’s the first time I saw the sun again during that dark hour. The sun came back out.”
Smiley also jokingly said that before discovering his twin girls were his biological children, he had known them all their lives.
“Me and her have joked about this,” he stated on the program, referring to his former partner. “I don’t run away from being a father, and she’s not the type of mom who would keep a child from a dad.”
Smiley recounted that he then stunned his family with the news at Brandon’s memorial dinner, even bringing out his daughters.
Smiley recollected the moment his family recognized they had a new wing of family to welcome and build, saying, “They lost it.”
Meanwhile, he said that one of his five-year-old daughters resembles him and the other has his personality.
He added that the girls alleviate his grief over his son by making his life feel full again, saying, “You’re getting ready to cry about Brandon, and one of them is talking about (how) they want a snack. You’re getting ready to cry about Brandon, and one of them says, ‘Hey, I’ve got to potty.'”
He remarked, “God don’t make no mistakes. … I can live off the perspective that I take in this whole situation, and (He) gave me some twins — not to replace Brandon, but (saying), ‘Here you go. Here’s some joy.'”
