‘Almost 40 and Having a Baby By a 23-Year-Old’: Anthony Edwards’ Paternity Case Saga Takes a Twist as Lil Baby’s Ex Welcomes Baby Girl
The 38-year-old mother connected to a paternity petition recently filed by NBA star Anthony “Ant-Man” Edwards, has revealed that she recently gave birth to a daughter.
On Sept. 22, a woman named Ayesha Howard uploaded a few photos on her Instagram story of her caressing her belly while wearing a see-through purple gown. She also shared images of the newborn on her Instagram story, though the child’s face was covered with a purple heart emoji.
“Momma doll baby,” she wrote over the photo.
In addition, the social media influencer, also known as Little Ms. Golden, posted more of the same photos on her Instagram page revealing the child’s birth date in the caption, “Golden girls… 10/14.”
Howard’s Instagram post raked up over 70k likes within 12 hours and received many congratulatory remarks from her 628k followers. One person said, “Awww, and you said you wanted a girl. Congrats” while another added, “That’s how you pop out & show nggas.”
Howard, who has a son with rapper Lil Baby, kept quiet about this pregnancy as she stopped posting online back in May.
The Neighborhood Talk reposted the birth announcement which sparked discourse about Edwards possibly being the second celebrity to father a child with the model.
“Ayesha love her some rich YNs lol,” a woman wrote. A second commenter joked, “Announcing the baby on the day the NBA return trying to distract him.”
One commenter blasted Ayesha, writing, “Being almost 40 and having a baby by a 23-year-[old] is crazy. The way some of y’all’ have babies for a check is even more insane.”
But it’s not unheard of considering 39-year-old Draya Michele gave birth to her third child, a daughter earlier this year, she shares with now-22-year-old Houston Rockets player Jalen Green. Michele also has a son, Jru, with former NFL star Orlando Scandrick.
Thirty-five-year-old fitness guru and dancer Joie Chavis gave birth to her third child as well, a daughter she shared with NFL star Trevon Diggs, who turned 26 last month. Chavis has an older daughter, Shai, with Bow Wow and a young son, Hendrix, with rapper Future.
As previously reported by Page Six, in September Edwards, 23, petitioned a Georgia court to determine his paternal rights if he is the father of Howard’s second child.
“If genetic testing shows that the petitioner is the father, the petitioner requests an order establishing the minor child’s paternity,” read Edwards’ legal documents.
A status conference for the paternity case is set for Nov. 13.
Edwards already has a daughter with his current girlfriend, Shannon Jackson. The stars of Netflix’s “Starting 5” docuseries welcomed Aislynn on March 2, 2024.
There is also unconfirmed speculation that the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard is the father to at least two other children.
In July 2024, Ally D accused Edwards of being an absentee father. A boy, likely named Amir, was reportedly born three months before Aislyn.
Another rumor suggested Edwards fathered a daughter, Aris, with a woman named Daja in September 2023. Daja celebrated the first birthday of “Little Miss Perfect” with an Oct. 1-dated Instagram post.
If Edwards is the mother of Howard’s daughter, he will have an extended family connection with Lil Baby. She gave birth to the “My Dawg” hitmaker’s 9-year-old son, Jason, in 2015.
Both Edwards and Lil Baby hail from Atlanta’s Oakland City neighborhood. Baby has also appeared at the former University of Georgia student’s AE5 basketball camp.
“I be hitting him when he do something fire. He hit me. We check on each other all the time. For sure, he’s my partner,” Edwards said about Lil Baby in a December 2023 interview with Complex.
The extended Anthony Edwards family tree does include another artist. Aislynn’s mother, Shannon Jackson, is also the mother of rapper Keith “Chief Keef” Cozart’s son Krue.
All of the media coverage surrounding Edwards has not just centered on questions of paternity. The Atlanta native got positive publicity for an ESPN interview alongside Minnesota Vikings player Justin Jefferson.
As Ant-Man’s family drama continues to play out in public, the two-time NBA All-Star kicked off the 2024-2025 season with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves fell to LeBron James, a debuting Bronny James, and the Lakers (120-109) on Oct. 23. Edwards scored 27 points on 10-for-25 shooting. He pulled down six rebounds as well.