Mario’s heart is crying out in joy.
After all, the R&B singer is stepping into a new chapter: fatherhood. On his 38th birthday, he announced that he’s expecting his first baby with girlfriend Esmeralda Rios.
“It’s a whole universe in there!” Mario captioned the Aug. 27 photo on his Instagram Stories, which sees him placing his hand on Esmeralda’s baby bump. “I can’t wait.”
Shortly after, the “Let Me Love You” star also gushed over this new milestone in his birthday post on Instagram.
“BDAY VIBES #virgoseason,” he wrote on the photo dump, adding a video of him rubbing his girlfriend’s growing stomach. “Thank you God! WE LOCKED IN.”
Though Mario has been private about his love life, he’s offered a brief glimpse into his romance with Esmeralda on social media. Indeed, he posted a video of their date night last June, which included them kissing at an all-white party in California. And while they prefer to keep their love out of the spotlight, Mario noted it was important for them to attend the event together.
“We don’t just go everywhere, but it was one of them ones,” he explained during his appearance on The Morning Hustle last November. “I had to take her. I wasn’t going to pop up over there, I’m bringing my girl. When you’re in a relationship, I feel like if you respect your partner, you gotta move in a way that shows respect because everything’s connected and exposed.”
He also praised Esmeralda, noting she looked “f–king beautiful” during their night out.
“She’s fire,” the Masked Singer alum continued. “I think celebrating love is beautiful.”
Though he didn’t tease if they were interested in starting a family at the time, Mario has been candid about taking his time in expanding his legacy.
“I don’t take having kids lightly,” he noted in his August 2023 interview with V-103 Atlanta. “Everybody I know [has] kids. Some of my friends [that are] younger have kids, some of my friends [that are] older have kids, and it comes with a lot of pros and cons. I also grew up without a father. So, I want to do it right when I do it.”
