The A-list of step mother and father! Celebrities who elevate their ‘bonus youngsters’ as their very own amid an increase in blended households

They’re at the top of their game; winning awards and raking in big bucks – but these celebrities are even bigger stars at home.

The likes of Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley are stealing hearts off screen by stepping up for their partners’ children and going above and beyond to raise them in love.  

The elite parenting club includes members of royalty, Hollywood and sport, as stars like Russell Wilson, Gabrielle Union and Princess Beatrice proudly show off their blended broods.

It’s no secret that Russell Wilson is a doting stepdad to Ciara and Future’s son, also named Future; with the NFL star taking parenting duties so seriously, fans have long called for the rapper to let Russell ‘have him’.

Despite Ben Affleck and J Lo’s divorce, the chic actress, 55, is still a beloved stepmother to his three children with Jennifer Garner, and continues to maintain a strong relationship with them.

Meanwhile Gabrielle Union, 55, stood by her stepdaughter, Zaya, through a public transgender row that saw her husband Dwyane Wade and his ex Siohvaughn Funches-Wade at loggerheads when the latter accused him of exploiting Zaya for money.

And TikTok sensation Nara Smith, 23, has made a name for herself as dutiful trad wife to husband and fashion model Lucky Blue Smith, as well as a loving stepmother to his daughter, Gravity, from a previous relationship.

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at the stars showing out for their bonus children and how they’re fulfilling parenting duties for their blended families.

Jennifer Lopez 

J Lo and Ben Affleck caught the world by surprise when they spun the block 20 years after their first failed romance.

Long lost Bennifer fans were reunited in hope as they pined for the superstar singer and Oscar winner, now 52, to get back together for good.

Spotted out in 2021, it appeared they were so in love this time around, that they headed straight for to the altar – even opting out of a prenuptial agreement when they wed in July 2022. 

Having moved on during the two-decade gap, they rekindled their romance as parents, with Jennifer bringing her twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony – Emme and Maximilian Muñiz, 16 – and Ben taking Violet, 19, Saraphina ‘Fin’, 15, and Samuel, 12, from his 10-year marriage to Jennifer Garner into the union.

But sadly the second time was not the charm, and despite penning a love song and  documentary for the Good Will Hunting heartthrob, Jennifer filed for divorce on what would mark their second anniversary.

According to a source for Page Six, at the time of the split, JLO’s main concern was for her blended family, as she feared how the divorce would affect her and Ben’s children. 

Since then, she has fiercely guarded her stepmother position by encouraging the kids to hang out together during holidays, shopping trips and at theme parks.

She was once spotted taking Ben and Jennifer Garner’s son, Samuel, on a day out shopping. Meanwhile she perhaps serves as fashion inspiration to Violet, whom she borrowed her pricey Dolce & Gabbana wrap dress for an event.

Jenny is clearly eager to keep the family close to her block, as Ben recently watched Emme and Fin perform at a school play in Los Angeles together. The actor was seen offering Emme a sweet embrace and a kiss on the head before saying goodbye.

Princess Beatrice is a soon-to-be proud mother-of-three following the joyful news of her pregnancy in 2024.

The Queen‘s granddaughter, 36, already shares daughter, Sienna, three, with husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 41, and became the first princess in the late monarch’s family to marry someone with a child when she took on the millionaire’s son, Wolfie, eight – and now refers to him as her ‘bonus son’.

The Goldsmith’s college, University of London alum has never shied away from the role, often publicly claiming Wolfie as her ‘bonus son’. She has also introduced him into the royal fold by way of events like Kate Middleton‘s Together at Christmas carol service in Westminster Abbey.

Wolfie was born in 2016 to property tycoon Edoardo and his then-girlfriend, Harvard-educated architect and designer, Dara Huang. Since the start of their relationship, the princess has openly raised Wolfie as a much-loved member of her growing brood.

Speaking to the Evening Standard in 2021, she gushed about the ‘great honour’ of stepmotherhood and revealed she had a ‘remarkable time’ re-reading her favourite bedtime stories to Wolfie during lockdown.

She added that Wolfie was, like many children, home schooled during lockdown, and helping him to engage with stories was a great way to ‘inspire imagination, creativity, independence and humour’.

In 2022, Wolfie spent Christmas at Sandringham, holding hands with his father and Beatrice as he took part in the annual walk at St Mary Magdalene church.

And in December 2023, the youngster attended the Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Beatrice and Edo, who are not working royals, have been married for nearly five years after tying the knot in 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. 

Russell Wilson   

Russell may have won awards for his work on the field but it seems his role as step dad takes the biggest crown.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, 36, won a new legion of fans after enthusiastically stepping up to father his now-wife, Ciara’s first born son.

The stunning singer dated rapper Future in 2012, before calling it quits just two years later over cheating allegations. 

When she accused the Atlanta rapper of having secret trysts with his ‘b**ch over there… with the Brazilian hair’ – revealed on song ‘I Bet’ in 2015 – the pair were already engaged with baby Future on the way.

She chose to leave the toxic relationship, and that’s when a newly-divorced Russell, then 26, swooped in with open arms to love her and her then-one-year-old son.

Russell quickly took to stepfatherhood, publicly declaring in 2016 – one year after his marriage to the Grammy winning songstress – that he loved being a stepdad.

Speaking to Maria Shriver for her Architects for Change web series, he said the best part of their marriage was becoming a stepfather to Future.  

‘Such a special, special kid’ he said. ‘I think about him, and being a stepdad. I’m a stepdad now. When I see this kid, he’s only two years old. He’s so sweet and so loving, always has a smile on his face. Always joking around, always running around the house’.

And in 2024, the religious sports star and father-of-four opened up about being ‘destined’ to parent baby Future from the onset, as ‘God gave me that gift’.

Speaking to host and fellow pro athlete Brandon Marshall, he shared insight into his seamless parenting skills.

‘You [have] got to love every single child as if they’re yours’. he explained. ‘That’s been the greatest gift of raising Future, and Sienna, and Win, and now Amora. 

‘God gave me that opportunity to raise them and to love them and to care for them and teach them every day. There’s no difference. To me, it’s the greatest gift – knowing that’s the responsibility to raise these four beautiful children all together’.

So impressed are fans that they’ve repeatedly begged his wife to reveal ‘Ciara’s prayer’ – what they say is a special request to God to find a good husband and present stepfather like Russell. 

Speaking to Angie Martinez in 2022, Ciara revealed the details of her prayer: ‘I prayed for a God-fearing man. I prayed for discernment’ she told the veteran New York broadcaster. 

‘I prayed for wisdom, to really learn from the wisdom that I’m gaining from the experience that I’m going through. I prayed for a man that loved kids, because, obviously me having my son, if you’re gonna love me you’ve gotta love him. 

‘I prayed for a man that was worldly as well. Because I love to explore. So someone that was gonna edify my world, that was important to me. I was ready to level up!’

She added that she initially planned to be single for four years, as she yearned for a new experience, and hoped to take her time so love could find her the ‘right’ way.  

There are certainly no doubts her prayers have been answered, with people so in awe of Russell’s role in Future Jr’s life, they have called for his rapper dad to completely step down.

The Mask Off rhymer, who’s alleged to have fathered at least eight children with eight different women, was called out in May 2024 for penning a one sentence birthday message to him and Ciara’s son.

Future – real name Nayvadius DeMun Cash – 41, took to X, to wish the junior a happy 10th birthday, writing: ‘Thank God for Baby Future. More life More blessings…I love you [to] infinity’.

Users were disturbed by what they perceived as a lack of effort in publicly celebrating his son, and pointed out a post made by Russell – who some label his ‘real father’ – as an example of a ‘better shoutout’ and a more acceptable father figure.

The sportsman had shared a sweet compilation of videos and photos from after Future’s birth up until recent days alongside a lengthy heartfelt caption.

It read: ‘Happy birthday Future! The big 10!! We are so proud of you and so grateful for you. You are our biggest blessing. An amazing son! The best big brother!! An absolute baller! So kind and loving! Keep shining. Keep loving. It is our greatest joy watching you grow into the young man God created you to be! I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! God is good!’

Concluding the sweet message were the words ‘We love you forever!’

Eagle-eyed fans compared the two posts, with one person writing, ‘Bro we’ve got to let Russell have him… focus on the other 12 [children] my king’. 

Russell and Ciara share four children together: Sienna, seven, Win, four, and Amora, one, as well as the singer’s son with Future, 10. 

Russell married his first wife and high school sweetheart, Ashton Meem in January 2012. They divorced in April 2014.

Nara Smith

The TikTok sensation has won over fans with her Hollywood looks, to die-for-figure, and ‘trad wife’ content based around her husband Lucky Blue Smith and their three children.

The South African-born German fashion model, 23, is often seen dressed to the nines, looking straight out of a 1950s magazine, while cooking dishes like waffles, pudding and cinnamon rolls from scratch. 

But despite her hectic schedule, the stay-at-home mum makes time to parent daughters Rumble, four, Whimsy, six months, son Slim, two, and her step daughter, Gravity Blue Smith, seven.

Lucky, 26, shares Gravity with actress and former beauty queen Stormi Bree Henley, 34. The former Miss Tennessee Teen USA gave birth to her only child in 2017,  but not much is known about why the ex lovers parted ways.

Nara’s role in Gravity’s life has impressed fans just as much as her cooking, with watchers praising the pair’s closeness and growing bond.

In an apparent video of the two dated in 2021 and recently reshared on TikTok, Nara could be seeing spending quality time with Gravity, who she fondly referred to as ‘Grav’.

While Nara addressed viewers, the then-toddler could be heard in the background sweetly calling for her stepmother’s attention, before excitedly shouting: ‘that’s for you!’

It appeared the youngster had gifted Nara with a present, to which the influencer lovingly responded: ‘Awww that’s for me? Grav thank you so much. Awww there’s so many hearts’. 

She then looked adoringly into Gravity’s direction before saying ‘I love you’. And before the short clip ended, Gravity called Nara ‘mom’.

Nara has previously been criticised for her ‘tradwife’ content – a traditional perception of wives and mothers as homemakers – as some viewers have slammed her for promoting an unattainable, old-fashioned lifestyle.

Gabrielle Union

The stunning actress has been a loving shoulder and support system for her husband, Dwyane Wade’s kids.

Though the Bring It on Star, 52, has endured her own motherhood struggles – including suffering ‘eight or nine miscarriages’ throughout her lifetime, she has made it her mission to step up for stepdaughter, Zaya – particularly when she needs it most.

Gabrielle is a proud stepmum to Zaire, 22 and Zaya – formerly known as Zion – 17, who her NBA hubby shares with his ex-wife of five years, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade. She also shares legal guardian responsibilities with Dwyane for his nephew, Dahveon, 23.

The NBA legend also fathered ‘break baby’ Xavier, 11, with Aja Metoyer in 2013, though it is unclear what the actress’s role is in the child’s life.

Together, the couple – who celebrated 10 ten years of marriage in 2024 – share daughter Kaavia, five, who they had via surrogate.

Gabrielle is the strong matriarch for her family, a position shown publicly in 2020 when her stepdaughter Zaya came out as transgender aged 12.

During an appearance on Taraji P. Henson’s Facebook Watch show Peace Of Mind, the Nebraska native opened up about the teen’s struggles with being ‘outed‘ before announcing the news.

She said at the time, Zaya lamented over being forced to ‘come out a few times’, including to her teacher in third grade, as well as again to her parents and the public.

Getting straight to the point, she told Taraji: ‘Zaya’s peace is nonnegotiable’.

The star’s love for her stepchild is also seen in a series of Instagram posts, namely one that year, which featured her and Zaya hugged up while sporting matching Burberry jumpers.

‘Always and forever. Love you’ she wrote on the post, before adding ‘Me and @zayawade #twinningiswinning’.

The actress also attends red carpet events with Zaya, including the recent Out100 2024 event by Out magazine. Posing with her stepmother and father, the teen glowed in a stunning black and animal print ensemble, which she paired with strappy black heels and sleek long hair.

In an image shared to her page, Gabrielle added: ‘100 reasons to celebrate!’ 

The doting couple stood by Zaya when she filed a legal petition to change her name from Zion Malachi Airamis to Zaya, as well as update her gender on her birth certificate back in 2022.

The move sparked a bitter and very public row between the trio and Zaya’s biological mother, Siohvaughn, that came to a head the same year.

The mother-of-two accused the NBA legend of exploiting their transgender daughter for financial gain, and begged a court to impose an order that would ban the then-15-year-old from legally changing her gender from male to female until she turned 18.

‘I have concerns that (Dwyane) may be pressuring our child to move forward with the name and gender change in order to capitalize on the financial opportunities that he has received from companies’, she said in her legal filing.

At the time, Dwyane – who revealed that Zaya had known her gender identity for ‘nine years’ before coming out – jumped to Instagram to address the claims, and stated, ‘Since this must be the new way of parenting, I guess I have to address the allegations which is a d**n shame,’ per People.

‘While none of us are surprised by Siohvaughn’s attempt to fight Zaya’s identity and her unwavering attempt to drag my name through the mud, I’m very disappointed that she continuously find[s] ways of centering herself and HER needs, without regard to her children,’ he continued.

He later wrote, ‘This isn’t a game for my family and definitely not for Zaya. This is her life.

In 2023, a Los Angeles County judge ruled that Zaya had been granted a legal name and gender change.

Jada Pinkett Smith

While the actress’s personal life rarely sees a dull moment, her role as a stepmother is a lot more earnest.

Married to Will Smith, albeit in an ‘open marriage’, the couple have parented, Jaden, 26, Willow, 24 and Trey, 32 – the latter the megastar’s son with ex-wife, Sheree Zampino.

When the Set It Off actress, 53, and Will, 56, tied the knot in 1997, she welcomed the the chance to stepparent Trey, who at the time was just a toddler.

Their bond has grown over the years, with her love for Trey seen in a touching Instagram post she shared for his 26th birthday. 

‘I am so proud of you for so many things but mostly for your deep desire to grow,’ she wrote in 2018. ‘You and I have been on parallel journeys as of late and I’ve been blessed to witness the power of your love for yourself and your family through the process’. 

Joining the likes of Princess Beatrice, she refers to the actor as her ‘bonus son’, who at one point she had a hand in raising almost daily. She added that their time together has forged a friendship that continues to blossom.

‘You are not only my bonus son, but my friend,’ she continued. ‘Thank you for the many ways you have held my hand through the years. I’m learning every day how to hold yours in the many different ways that you need. I love you. Happy birthday my sweet Trey!’

The family unit appears to be as strong as ever, with Trey regularly spending holidays with his father and Jada, along with his step siblings.

Taking to Instagram last year, she shared a series of black and white images depicting how the brood spent Thanksgiving, which included two sweet images of Trey. 

In one heartwarming picture, the family of five posed together bearing joyous smiles, and in another Trey, Jaden and Willow were bursting with laughter.

Meanwhile she marked Father’s Day with a special ode to Will, that showed the blended family – including Trey’s mother Sheree – in their essence.

Sheree, 57, is an actress and producer who was married to the Independence Day star from 1992 to 1995. 

In the post, the family stood bearing smiles while jokester Will lay on a couch pretending to be asleep. ‘Will, thank you for being a devoted girl dad/boy dad and doing all you do’ she wrote. ‘Happy Father’s Day … you deserve the rest’. 

Despite her fondness for her stepson, Jada has been transparent about the struggles she faces mothering a ‘blended’ family.

Back in 2013 the Red Table Talk host opened up about what it was like to parent her husband’s child, and shared key advice for others in a similar situation.

She wrote on Facebook: ‘Blended families are NEVER easy. When I married Will, I knew Trey was part of the package…Period! If I didn’t want that…I needed to marry someone else’.

She added that a key component to loving Trey was getting along with ‘the most important person in the world to him…his mother’.

‘The two of us may not have always LIKED each other… but we have learned to LOVE each other,’ she said of the relationship, adding that her blended family has made her a giant and ‘taught [her] so much about love [and] commitment’.

While the Hollywood couple seem to have their parenting on lock, it appears their relationship is a lot less stable.

Their fractured pairing gained even more notoriety in 2022 when Will slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a bald joke about Jada that visibly offended her. 

And in 2023 they announced they had undergone a secret seven year separation in 2016, but not long afterwards the former rap star declared Jada his ‘ride or die’. The pair were also later spotted on a rare date night in November 2024 in Los Angeles.

And causing even more confusion, the Girls Trip star referred to late rap legend Tupac Shakur her as ‘soulmate’, despite insisting that nothing untoward ever happened. She also allegedly engaged in a sexual ‘entanglement‘ with singer August Alsina in 2016.

Will has also admitted to having extramarital affairs during the couple’s ‘open marriage’.

Kerry Washington

The Scandal star, 47, is famously tight-lipped about her personal life, and maintains a cloud of secrecy around her children.

The New York native married former NFL player and actor, Nnamdi Asomugha, 43, in a secret ceremony in 2013, after the couple met at her Broadway play, ‘Race’ four years prior.

The Primetime Emmy Award winner and Nnamdi – who was born to Nigerian Igbo parents – share daughter, Isabelle, 10, and son, Caleb, eight. She is also stepmom to his teenage daughter Anaiya from a previous relationship. 

The actress has fiercely guarded her kids’ identities and has never posted them on her social media pages, a courtesy she extends to her stepdaughter.

And while it seems Anaiya’s life will remain a mystery to fans, Kerry’s pride as a mother has not – which she kindly reminded a Today Show host in 2018.

In an excerpt shared to YouTube, Kerry appeared on the programme to discuss her role in the Broadway play American Son – a story which follows an interracial couple searching for their missing child.

While speaking to the UnPrisoned star, host Craig Melvin referred to her as a mother-of-two, to which she immediately set the record straight: ‘I am a mother of three’ she rebutted.

The actress – who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – has briefly opened up about motherhood and the important lessons she hopes to teach her children.

She told Marie Claire in her cover issue: ‘Part of their [my children’s] journey is to know not everybody’s going to hold your hand all the time. I try to show up as the person they need to help them be the best versions of themselves’.

And in 2022 she revealed what it was like to be a ‘girl mom’ to her daughter and stepdaughter.

‘They just make me want to do more and better and be there for them’ she told Entertainment Tonight. 

Matt Damon 

Competing with Russell Wilson for best celebrity stepfather is the Bourne Identity star, 54.

Matt was bourne to be a father (pun intended) and has often spoken of his great joy fathering four girls – including his adopted daughter, 25-year-old Alexia.

The Oscar winner shares Isabella, 18, Gia, 16 and Stella, 14 with Argentine beauty Luciana Bozán Barroso, 48 – whom he met after spotting her striking looks from across a bar she worked at Miami in 2003.

At the time Luciana was a single mother to then four-year-old Alexia, having split from her daughter’s father, Arbello Barroso.

The Talented Mr Ripley actor has been in Alexia’s life ever since, and fondly refers to her as his ‘daughter’. He officially adopted Alexia shortly after marrying her mum in 2005, per Hello.

In 2020, Matt opened up about the ‘scary’ moment Alexia – the current director of photography for Paramount Pictures – contracted coronavirus and how him and his wife were there for their ‘daughter’.

Speaking to Graham O’Toole and Nathan O’Reilly on Ireland’s Spin 103.8’s Fully Charged while on lock down in the country, he said: ‘Our oldest daughter is in college, she’s in NYC. She had Covid really early on, along with her roommates and got through it fine. But everybody’s okay. 

‘For Lucy’s mum and my mum, it’s scary for that generation. I think we’ve all got the message now, everyone’s doing the isolation and social distancing and hand-washing and everything we can to mitigate this but it’s frightening, certainly for our parents’. 

Back in 2011, when Alexia was 12, the doting father and daughter duo were spotted catching quality time together as they took a stroll together along a Malibu beach. 

The two-time Forbes Most Bankable movie star was pictured walking barefoot along the shoreline while chatting with Alexia, while the two appeared deeply engrossed in conversation.

She also attends red carpet events with her famous dad and step sisters, including a recent trip with only Matt and her mum to the Luisaviaroma store opening in Manhattan.

Aside acting, there’s nothing the star enjoys more than being a ‘girl dad’ to his four daughters, and if there’s anything he’s learnt along the way – it’s to ensure he builds their ‘self esteem’.

Perhaps one way he’s done that is by being an overprotective parent.

In an interview with Radio Times in 2011, he expressed his concerns about Alexia dating, saying: ‘Like any father, I’m concerned a little about her [Alexia] becoming a teenager… because I know just what teenage boys are thinking’.

‘Luckily, she is a terrific kid and the best you can hope for is that you are raising someone who has a lot of self-esteem and a lot of common sense’.

The loving dad has since eased up and welcomed his stepdaughter’s ‘incredible’ boyfriend whom he and Luciana ‘adore’ with open arms. 

Penn Badgley 

The You actor’s first experience as a father was as a stepdad to wife Domino Kirke’s son Cassius Riley.

The star, 38, who’s fame soared after starring in Gossip Girl and as psychotic killer Joe Goldberg in smash hit Netflix series, You, married the British-American singer and doula, 41, in 2017.

He lovingly took on stepfather duties for his sweetheart’s son, born in 2009, to her former partner, folk music singer Morgan O’Kane. 

Penn and Domino recently welcomed their own child in 2020, a son named James, four, after Domino endured two miscarriages.

Juggling the roles of stepdad and father haven’t come easy, with the actor recently sharing his candid take on just how ‘very different’ they are.

While appearing on New York Times Modern Love podcast in 2024, he opened up about the experience, saying: ‘My stepson is – his father is very much in his life, so his father is his father, and I’m something else. So I have two different kind of parental roles

‘My biological son is only three-and-a-half. So, that’s a very different thing, too. I’m going to need to be able to more consciously show him my vulnerability as he gets older in those years, you know?’ 

Still, Penn has continued to show up for his step son, even sacrificing his own sleep to ensure the pair get quality time.

‘So this was like a night, an evening where I was sacrificing sleep after many nights of not much sleep, I think’ he said.

‘Our littlest was sick, but it struck me, and I was like: ‘Hey, we need to watch a movie. We are going to watch The Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

‘And frankly, I was exhausted, and I was like: “I’m going to get maybe four or five hours of sleep”. And whatever. But I just knew it was important. It was like the stars had aligned so that my wife and youngest son were asleep, and I was just like, this is a good time to do this. You’re not going to play video games right now. We’re going to do this’.

Steve Harvey 

The funnyman and gameshow host is stepfather to famous socialite Lori Harvey, a role he pretty much took on from the moment he married her mother, Marjorie.

In 2007, the Celebrity Family Feud star, 67, married Marjorie Bridges and immediately adopted her three children Morgan, 39, Jason, 33, and Lori, 27.

And after two marriages and four biological children with first and second wives Marcia Harvey and Mary Shackelford respectively – he has been a very present father for the blended bunch.

Steve – full name Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr – has fathered twins Karli and Brandi, 40, and son Broderick, 31, with his first wife Marcia; and Wynton, 26, with his second wife Mary Shackelford. He is currently a father-of-seven.

In 2024, the Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man author revealed he takes no nonsense when it comes to his kin, and will go to any lengths to ward off bad company.

Speaking to US Weekly in 2024, he said he could easily ‘get rid’ of one of his daughters’ boyfriends.

‘If I spot a bad one, I get rid of them’ he said. ‘I make no bones about it, so they’re [my daughters are] very careful when they bring them. You can think a person is wonderful, but everybody’s wonderful in the beginning. Everybody, you always meet the mask.

‘Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don’t’ he added.

And speaking specifically on his stepdaughter Lori, he shared the ‘work’ he puts in to ensure she only attracts the best. 

‘If you come in the house, and I know right off the top that you’re just not a good guy, I start the reading process right away I don’t say nothing to my daughter, I just, behind the scenes, I start working toward getting rid of this guy’ he explained.

‘The person you choose to spend your life with is probably the most important decision you’ll ever make.

‘That relationship becomes an elevator. It can take you up or it can take you down, so choose wisely’, he concluded.

The proud father regularly speaks fondly of Lori, even taking up for her during a public split with heartthrob Michael B Jordan in 2022.

According to People, the Creed star, 37, and Lori met a year prior through mutual friends. The pair seemed to be going strong before suddenly splitting ‘amicably’ one year later.

Once fans took sides, her doting stepfather declared he was ‘team Lori’ and said he would support her through the break up.

During an episode of The Steve Harvey Morning Show in 2022, he announced: ‘I’m team Lori, 1,000 percent. She’s my daughter. I love her, I support her’. 

However, Steve couldn’t resist making light of the situation, joking that at least it didn’t end in a costly divorce – of which Steve himself has had three – and is glad that they both ‘got out early.’ 

In 2021, he dedicated a special post to his ‘princess’ Lori to mark her 25th birthday.

‘Happy Birthday Princess!!! Daddy loves you! @loriharvey’. he shared on Instagram to his millions of followers.

And in 2023, he reposted a happy image of the seven-strong Harvey Clan accompanied by thankful prayer and heart emojis.