Who is Kehlani?
Kehlani is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. She originally rose to fame with the teen pop band “POPLYFE” on the sixth season of America’s Got Talent in 2011. Some of Kehlani’s hit songs include: “Gangsta”, “Good Life”, “Beautiful Lies”, “Nights Like This”, and “Good Thing” amongst others.
Kehlani’s full name is Kehlani Ashley Parrish. She was born on April 24, 1995, in Oakland, California, United States. She is 28 years old as of May 2023.
About Kehlani’s parents
Kehlani was born in Oakland, California, United States to a Spanish and Native American mother and an African-American father. The identity of her parents is currently unknown. Unfortunately, her parents were not present in her life. Her father died when she was a year old while her mother struggled with drug addiction and served time in jail. Growing up without her parents, Kehlani was placed in foster care before her aunt adopted her.
About Kehlani’s father
The identity of Kehlani’s father is unknown at this time. Even though Kehlani did not get a chance to grow up with her father, she has a tattoo of her father’s portrait on her leg. The singer stated that she felt her father’s presence when she became a parent.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, she said:
I spent my whole life hearing about this mystery man that I didn’t get to grow up with and then when I became a parent something just clicked. I felt the presence of my father a lot around me.
About Kehlani’s mother
The identity of Kehlani’s mother is unknown at this time as well. According to reports, her mother struggled with drug addiction and served time in jail. Her mother came back to her life when she returned from jail and had two other kids. Kehlani once revealed that her mom was the inspiration for her song “The Letter”.
Part of the song’s lyrics reads:
And if you weren’t gonna guide me
Why bring me into the light?
Must have done something to make you want to run and hide
Why oh why, Didn’t you just live your life?
And every girl needs a Mother
And damn it, I needed you
Instead you dug for cover
And you ran from the truth
And like kids do
You waited around for proof
Further information about Kehlani’s mother is scarce at this time.
Kehlani’s siblings
Kehlani has two younger half-siblings from her mother’s side and two step-siblings from her aunt’s side who are her cousins. Further information about them is scarce at this time.
Kehlani’s sexuality
In 2021, Kehlani caused a stir online after she confirmed her sexuality. The singer came out as a lesbian during an Instagram live session with her fans.
“Wanna know what’s new about me?” – she asked during an Instagram Live video alongside photographer Jamie-Lee B.
“I finally know I’m a lesbian.”
In an interview with Advocate in 2021, Kehlani discussed her experience as a queer artist working in mainstream music, while acknowledging her privilege as a “straight-presenting” cisgender woman.
She said:
I have a lot of privilege [as a ] cisgender-presenting, straight-presenting. I think a lot of artists who we talk about and say, ‘Oh, they had to come out or they had to do this,’ a lot of them can’t hide it. A lot of it is very [much] in how they present. It’s tougher for them. It’s tougher for trans artists. It’s tougher for Black gay men. It’s tougher for Black masculine gay women.
Kehlani’s pronouns
Kehlani hinted at being on the “non-binary scale” during an interview with Diva Magazine in April 2019. She however stated then that she still preferred to use the “she/her” pronouns. One year later, the singer edited her pronouns on her social media pages to “she/they”.
The “she/her” pronouns were used for Kehlani in this article.
Kehlani’s marriage and wedding
As of the time of publishing this article (May 2023), Kehlani is unmarried and does not have a wife or husband. However, she has been in multiple relationships with high-profile celebrities one of whom she has a child with. According to reports, Kehlani is currently believed to be in a relationship with female basketball player Kiara Russell.
List of Kehlani’s past relationships
After dropping her mixtape in 2014 and getting shot to fame, Kehlani has had a number of both high-profile and low-key relationships.
In an interview with Teen Vogue in 2020, the singer commented about how the lessons she has learnt from her relationships have helped her grow.
She said:
In each relationship I went through, I feel like I took a brick from it and put it into my house. If I did not learn those lessons, no matter how hard they were, I wouldn’t be the person that I am right now.
Below is a comprehensive list of Kehlani’s past relationships (including past boyfriends and girlfriends):
- Kehlani was in a relationship with PartyNextDoor in 2014.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Kyrie Irving in 2015.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Shaina Negrón in 2017.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Dave West in 2017.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Hayley Kiyoko in 2018.
- Kehlani was romantically linked to Demi Lovato in 2018.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Javaughn Young-White in 2018.
- Kehlani was romantically linked with Ella Mai in 2018.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with YG in 2019.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with Bryson Tiller in 2020.
- Kehlani was romantically linked with SZA in 2021.
- Kehlani was in a relationship with 070 Shake in 2021.
- Kehlani is believed to be in a relationship with Kiara Russell in 2023.
About Kehlani’s relationship with PartyNextDoor
PartyNextDoor is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. PartyNextDoor’s full name is Jahron Anthony Brathwaite. He was born on July 3, 1993, in Mississauga, Canada. He is 29 years old as of May 2023.
Kehlani and PartyNextDoor sparked relationship rumours back in 2014 when PartyNextDoor released a song titled “Girl From Oakland” on his “PNDColours” EP. He then dropped a song titled “Kehlani’s Freestyle” in 2015, which included lots of hints about a possible relationship between the two. They reportedly broke up in 2015 before Kehlani started dating NBA star Kyrie Irving.
In 2016, PartyNextDoor posted a picture hinting that he had reconciled with Kehlani. He wrote:
After all her shenanigans, still got the r&b singer back in my bed.
The video caused a stir online with fans accusing Kehlani of cheating on Kyrie Irving. That same year, in an interview with Rolling Stone, PartyNextDoor said:
I regret how it went down. Big time, I regret how it went down. I look into people’s eyes, and I know they think I’m a bad guy. There’s a lot of details that people don’t know.
About Kehlani’s relationship with Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. He was born on March 23, 1992, in Melbourne, Australia. He is 31 years old as of May 2023.
Kehlani and Kyrie Irving dated for a short period in 2016, the same year Kyrie won a championship title for the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James. Though the relationship was short-lived, it was one of Kehlani’s well-known relationships because it ended dramatically, with fans believing that the singer had cheated on Kyrie with her ex-boyfriend PartyNextDoor.
According to reports, the cheating scandal took over social media and Kehlani attempted suicide due to the negative attention she received. That same year, Kyrie Irving broke his silence stating that he had nothing but love for Kehlani despite the accusations which led to her suicide attempt.
He wrote:
It’s unfortunate that it’s received so much attention but it’s become bigger because of a post that was misunderstood. It’s been hard to see what’s been going on and not address the truth. I do not justify the picture of what dude did to try to spark all of this nonsense that could have been avoided.
On the other hand, that same year, Kehlani addressed the matter in an interview on The Cruz Show. She said:
I think it was a combination of things. I think, one, the response was insane. Two, I think people forgot I was a 21-year-old going through the biggest heartbreak of my life. think it was a combination of things. I wasn’t a victim, you know what I mean I’m never a victim, I refuse to be a victim, I’m not. It was really recovering from so many things at once … on the flip side, there’s not too much that can hurt me now.
Two years later, Kyrie Irving wrote a lengthy apology to Kehlani on Instagram.
He wrote:
I’m sorry, I know this is long overdue. I have to speak on this simply because I owe it to you and you deserve the world to see you for you and how beautiful you are inside and out, and not for the attachment to an emotional moment in time where we both had to grow up and learn about our hearts and our souls in a world that judges and adds on fictitious pressure.
About Kehlani’s relationship with YG
YG is an American rapper. YG’s full name is Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson. He was born on March 9, 1990, in Compton, California, United States. He is 33 years old as of May 2023.
Kehlani and YG started dating in 2019 and were together for a few months before calling it quits in 2020. Kehlani once revealed that she had known YG for at least five years before they started dating. Around that time, they were both in the early stages of their respective careers and were not familiar with mainstream audiences.
A month after they went public with their romance, YG was seen cozying up to another woman outside of a club in Los Angeles. Although, he denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he loved Kehlani. In December 2020, Kehlani revealed on social media that she and YG had broken up, but she did not state the reason for their split.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club in May 2021, Kehlani stated that infidelity led to the end of her relationship with YG.
About Kehlani’s relationship with Javaughn Young-White
Javaughn Young-White is a Jamaican-American guitarist. He is popularly known as the baby daddy of Kehlani.
News of Kehlani’s relationship with Javaughn Young-White came out around the same time she announced her pregnancy in 2018. When asked about the father of her baby during Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio Show appearance in 2018, Kehlani explained why Javaughn was such a perfect match.
She said:
I started dating women before I ever dated men. Then, I was lucky to find a partner who was a bisexual male. And he understands my queerness and my fluidity, and I understand his. It’s very awesome to be understood.
There were speculations that Javaughn Young-White was only Kehlani’s gay friend and sperm donor. However, he took to Twitter to debunk the rumours, saying:
I’ve never been a sperm donor nor do I identify as gay nor have I ever been *the gay best friend* lol. I am a father to my beautiful daughter and I like what I like. if you’re going to be aimless & nosey least have your facts straight.
In March 2021, the pair welcomed their first child, Adeya Nomi Parrish Young-White. Shortly after the baby’s arrival, Javaughn took to Twitter to express his joy:
Adeya is home. Kehlani gave birth at home standing up, unmedicated, into my arms as we spoke her 1st words to her. These two are my reason & resolve. We are enjoying each other & our health, resting & surrendering to love. My heart is full.
It’s unclear how long their relationship lasted as further information about them is unknown at this time.
About Kehlani’s relationship with Kiara Russell
As of May 2023, Kiara Russell is believed to be Kehlani’s current partner. She is a basketball player who works as a graduate assistant at Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team. She was born on March 30, 1998, in Minneapolis, United States. As of May 2023, Kiara Russell is 25 years old.
Although the pair have not officially confirmed when they started dating, it was speculated that it was after Kehlani’s split from 070 Shake back in September 2022.
The singer had liked all of Kiara Russell’s Instagram pictures, including some from years ago. According to reports, Kehlani confirmed her relationship with Kiara by reposting an Instagram post from Kiara Russell. Kiara then posted a photo dump on Instagram with photos of her and Kehlani booed up. The photos were captioned “love n happiness dump”.
Kehlani reposted the photos with the caption “You have the sweetest soul I have ever seen”. Further information about their relationship is scarce at this time.
Kehlani’s children
As of the time of publishing this article (May 2023), Kehlani is the mother of one child, a daughter named Adeya Nomi Parrish Young-White whom she shares with her then-boyfriend Javaughn Young-White.
About Kehlani’s kids
Adeya Nomi Parrish Young-White is Kehlani’s daughter and her only child at this time. She was born on March 23, 2019, in California, United States. She is 4 years old as of May 2023. Two days after Adeya was born, Kehlani took to her Instagram page to share the news.
She wrote:
This weekend our angel arrived healthy & perfect in every way in our bathroom at home, unmedicated homebirth was the absolute hardest yet most powerful thing I’ve ever done.
Very nice family
They are happy 🥰