Joe Budden proposes to Shadée Monique as she surprises him with baby news

What began as a birthday celebration ended with an engagement and the announcement that the couple is expecting a baby girl.

Joe Budden is entering a major new chapter: the rapper-turned-podcast host is engaged to longtime partner Shadée Monique, and the couple is also expecting a baby girl.

Monique shared the pregnancy news as part of the couple’s recent celebration, revealing that Budden is about to become a girl dad. The announcement comes just as the pair marks seven years together, turning a milestone anniversary into an even bigger family moment.

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A post shared by Shadée Monique (@therealcateyes)

“I was so blessed to have our families and friends in the building, celebrating what I thought was Joe’s 46th birthday party which just so happened to fall on my mother’s actual birthday. Little did I know, My Baby had other plans…he asked me to be his WIFE!

I’m still on cloud nine! And the whole time, I thought I was the one with the big surprise…announcing that we’re expecting a BABY GIRL!” she wrote in her IG caption.

Budden, 45, and Monique, a Houston entrepreneur, began dating in 2019. Their relationship gradually became more public, with the couple later sharing their life together through social media and through their joint podcast, “Pod Wives.” On Aug. 30, Budden proposed to Monique in a moment captured on video.

The pregnancy also gives Budden another chance at fatherhood with a new partner. He already has two sons: Joseph “Trey” Budden III, born in 2001, and Lexington, whom he shares with former fiancée Cyn Santana. Budden and Santana welcomed Lexington in December 2017 and became engaged the following year before eventually ending their relationship.

His relationship with Monique has taken a markedly different path. Unlike his previous high-profile engagement, the couple has spent years building their relationship before taking this latest step.

Now, that seven-year relationship is moving toward both marriage and parenthood.

According to reports surrounding the announcement, the couple is expecting a daughter in December, making the news particularly significant for Budden, who will soon add a daughter to his family.

For the podcast veteran, the timing is especially fitting. The engagement came just before his 46th birthday on Aug. 31, giving Budden plenty to celebrate as he prepares for what could be one of the biggest personal changes of his life.

After years of relationships, fatherhood and a previous broken engagement, Budden and Monique appear ready to build their next chapter together, this time as fiancés and soon-to-be parents to a baby girl.