R&B singer Mario turned into "Doctor Barrett" for the birth of his first child this week.
On Monday (January 28), the "Let Me Love You" artist welcomed his first child, a boy, with his girlfriend Esmerelda Rios, which he captured in his Instagram Stories. "Women are God’s greatest creation cuz what I witness today was ONLY GODS work!" Mario captioned the photo, which showed him wearing scrubs, per People. "Healthy baby boy!"
Mario, 39, first announced that he and Rios were expecting last August, where an Instagram Story showed his hand on Rios' baby bump. "It's a whole universe in there! 🥹 I can't wait," read the text on the photo.
Last November, the singer spoke to The Shade Room about his excitement for first-time fatherhood and explained that "being smart" was his key to escaping early fatherhood. Around the 42-minute mark, Mario shared that he and Rios had "known each other for a long time," thus making them prepared to become parents.
"You meet people and you build a relationship, y'all lose touch, and then y'all reconnect," he said. "And it's like you guys are both more mature now. And that person has evolved into somebody that you can see yourself being best friends with, really close with. It starts there and then it evolves into more."
Mario also explained that having a child initially wasn't a priority for him, as he didn't see an example of co-parenting in his household as a child. "It was just, I think, safety and comfort and timing of where I'm at in my life and just realizing, like, just be free. Don't block it," he said about his relationship.