As Rickey Smiley confirms the death of his eldest son, well-wishers have offered outpourings of support for his family and other children.
On Sunday, January 29, Smiley confirmed the tragic news in an Instagram video. “I lost my oldest son Brandon Smiley this morning. I’m okay, but please pray for my son’s mother Brenda, his siblings and his daughter Storm,” Smiley wrote in the caption. As of yet, no cause of death has been disclosed by the Smiley family.
How many children does Rickey Smiley have?
Rickey Smiley, born Broderick Dornell Smiley, has ten children, two of which are biological.
“I have two biological kids and the rest are adopted, mixed with nieces and nephews,” Smiley told The View seven years ago. In an interview with VladTV from four years ago, this number of children increased again, with Smiley revealing he has raised “about 15 kids.” The comedian put a majority of these children through college.
Rickey Smiley’s eldest biological child is Brandon, 32, followed by Malik, 21.
Meet Rickey Smiley’s adopted children
A funny man and a family man, Rickey Smiley has been keen to take on the father figure role to a number of children over the years.
“I have this foundation called Front Row Kids. I buried my father when I was six years old and a lot of kids from the church and in the community had to bury a parent, I sympathize with that,” Smiley revealed on The View. “So, we take a lot of those kids out on boating trips… I just appreciate my sons for opening up their hearts and their home and accepting other kids. We have pretty much raised between 12 and 15 children.”
Some of his confirmed adopted children include D’essence, Aaryn, and his nephew Craig.
Rickey Smiley didn’t know Brandon was his biological son for years
Rickey Smiley has been popular on the comedy scene since the early 1990s. At this point in his career, Smiley was not aware of the fact he had a son. This is as his ex-partner, Brenda, was not aware Brandon was Rickey Smiley’s child.
“We were all young, college, high school. Relationship ends, she gets with somebody else thinking that the baby was his. It ended up being mine after six years of speculation. DNA test came back as mine and then I raised him,” Smiley told VladTV. Smiley also revealed that the man who thought Brandon Smiley was his son raised him as his own for the first six years. Smiley described him as a “great guy” who eventually married Brandon Smiley’s mother, Brenda. The two families are still close, with Brandon’s half sister even working at the Rickey Smiley Morning Show.
Our thoughts are with Brandon Smiley’s family and friends in light of this difficult news.
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