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American singer-songwriter Brian McKnight recently welcomed his third child with his wife, Dr. Leilani Malia Mendoza.
With this newborn, Brian has now become a father of six kids. The 53-year-old and his wife took to Instagram on Monday, January 23, 2023, and wrote:
“For this child we have prayed and the Lord has granted us the desires of our hearts” 1 Samuel 1:27. God’s greatest gift, our son is here!!! Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight. We are so in love!!!”
Brian is also a father to Brian Jr. and Niko, both of whom he shares with his ex-wife Julie McKnight.
After revealing the name of his newborn on social media, McKnight received massive backlash as people alleged that he abandoned his older son, Brian, but gave his newborn the same name. One social media user also commented on the fact that the singer is not looking after his older children and focusing more on “popping” new ones.
Furthermore, Brian McKnight welcomed the newborn with his current wife Leilani Malia Mendoza, a Filipino-Hawaiian Pediatric Neurophysiologist at UCLA. The 45-year-old also has two other kids, Jack and Julia.
Netizens accuse Brian McKnight of “erasing” his older son by giving his newborn the same name
Soon after Brian posted about becoming a father again, social media users criticized him, with many bringing back old rumors about Brian McKnight abandoning his older son, Brian Jr.
Several internet users called the whole ordeal “sick stuff,” and pointed out that the singer has two sons and two daughters that he allegedly doesn’t care about. A comment on the post read:
“He already has a son named Brian! This is just weird on so many levels! Considering he abandoned all of his other biological children! He has 2 sons and 2 daughters that he doesn’t even care for!!! Sick stuff.”
Even Twitter was flooded with posts about McKnight's decision to name his kid Brian.
Leilani Mendoza: A doctor and mother of three kids, has been married to Brian since 2017
Having a career that is very different from her husband's, Leilani is a doctor with a specialization in brain anomalies in children.
She was previously in a relationship before meeting Brian and has two kids from the relationship, Julia, who is 24 years old, and Jack, who is 22 years old.
Furthermore, the newborn baby came after a miscarriage, which was shared by the couple in May 2022, when Brian opened up about the same on Instagram.
Brian McKnight and Mendoza began dating in 2014 and got engaged three years later, in 2017. The couple tied the knot in December 2017.
