Wayne Brady Admits It Took 'So Much Therapy' for Him to Embrace His 'Authentic' Blended Family Dynamic: 'Feels Amazing'
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10/08/2024 02:47 PM
The actor shares daughter Maīle with his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, and son Val with his ex-girlfriend Tina
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Jason Michael Fordham, Mandie Taketa, Maile Masako Brady, and Wayne BradyWayne Brady is showing his pride for his blended family.
As a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the actor, 52, opened up about what it took for his untraditional family to get to the healthy place they're in today as they discussed their new reality show Wayne Brady: The Family Remix. The proud dad was joined on the talk show by his ex-wife Mandie Taketa, 48, their daughter Maīle Masako Brady, 21, and Taketa's partner Jason Fordham, 40.
Asked how he's so authentic in sharing his family dynamic, Brady replied, "So much therapy."
"Therapy and family, and it feels amazing," he continued. "This show and us creating it, it was a way of entering this second act of life of trying to live in authenticity."
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Related: Wayne Brady Reveals He Has a Son: 'How Loved He Is!' (Exclusive)
Since coming out as pansexual, the proud dad shared, "I feel that I've been able to prosper, personally. Coming out as someone who has dealt with mental health issues, and by coming out as pansexual, and coming out about our family dynamic, now it's a more authentic Wayne that's even on camera and on stage and I'm a better father."
"I think I'm a better man because when you stop hiding things, you can truly be," he added. "A lot of people don't know anything about me because for years, I said, 'I'm not saying jack! Y'all just watch what I do look, but you don't need to know anything about me,' because I was hiding all this stuff inside."
"So we decided to break that wall down," he continued.
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Wayne Brady/Instagram
Wayne Brady and family at ChristmasBrady is not only a co-parent of Maīle, but he also co-parents Taketa and Fordham's son Sundance-Isamu, whom they welcomed through adoption in September 2021. When it comes to their healthy parenting relationship, Brady admitted, "She will deny this, but I think that Mandy is the crux of making this whole thing work."
"Even once we divorced," he recalled, "she made the decision that we're still going to be family."
Brady recently became a dad again when his ex-girlfriend Tina gave birth to a baby boy named Val Henry. Although he was "shocked" when he learned she was pregnant in 2022, he told PEOPLE in July that he was determined to make Val feel loved and valued.
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