Ashley Cain has some good news to share.
The Challenge: War of the Worlds alum told The Sun this week that he is expecting a baby with a friend whom he had dated in the past, telling the outlet he found out the news in July.
“I got a call from a girl I was seeing who I have known since I was 18,” Ashley said. “We are friends and have met up on and off over the years.”
The announcement came more than two years after Ashley’s first daughter Azaylia’s death in April 2021. Ashley and his then-partner Safiyya Vorajee welcomed their daughter in August 2020. Just eight weeks after she was born, Azaylia was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
As The Ashley previously reported, the Ex on the Beach star started a GoFundMe to raise money for his daughter’s treatment. Well-wishers donated more than $2 million but sadly, Azaylia died from the disease at just eight months old.
Ashley told The Sun he had mixed feelings upon finding out that he was going to be a father again.
“The first thing that I did was go down to Azaylia’s resting place to talk to her about it,” he said. “I believe that was a huge part that has allowed me to feel positive about it. I feel like she was the main person that I needed to speak to and to get this thing off my chest.”
Following his visit to his daughter’s grave, Ashley shared that he felt in his heart that she was happy for him. He also revealed that he would be having a boy this time.
“Azaylia would have loved a little brother and this is now my chance to do what I was meant to do on this Earth,” he added.
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Ashley admitted to feeling “slightly guilty” at first over being a father again.
“I felt slightly hurt for Azaylia and I didn’t really expect this to be the case. But very quickly, like I do, I took the responsibility of being a father,” he said. “I realize that every child is a blessing and I got myself in the right mind frame.”
Ashley shared that he told his former partner Safiyya he was expecting a son and they both “shed tears.”
“It was a time where she congratulated me and wished me the best,” he added.
After multiple fans slammed Ashley for going public with the news and for not being sympathetic to Safiyya’s feelings, the reality star took to Instagram to write a lengthy post defending his actions.
“This isn’t a post for sympathy, it’s a post to say it how it is..” he began. “I am a man that went through a tragic 6 month battle with my daughter fighting cancer. I am a man that witnessed that terrible illness take her life. I am a man that had to bury the most precious thing I have ever seen, touched & witnessed.”
Ashley went on to state his attributes, vowing to be a present father to his son.
“Being that man, I will be a present father to my child,” he wrote. “I will love, care & protect him at all costs for the rest of my life … To everyone reading this whether you love me or hate me.. I wish you love, strength & blessings!”
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(Photos: Instagram)
I remember watching little Azaylia‘s battle with leukemia. I fell in love with her little personality. It hit hard when she passed away.💔
Two YEARS is respectable…Alyssa Scott (one of Nick Cannon’s MANY baby mamas) was pregnant mere MONTHS after losing her son Zen to a brain tumor…now that’s DESPICABLE!!!
Holy teeth whitener.