How Ne-Yo Explained His Polyamorous Relationship to His 7 Kids

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Effie Orfanides is a contributing entertainment writer for Newsweek, based in Tampa, Florida. Her focus is on entertainment news, celebrity relationships, and reality television. Effie joined Newsweek in 2025. An entertainment news veteran, she has bylines at People magazine, Heavy, NickiSwift, CBS Local, SheKnows, and more. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in English.

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Ne-Yo hasn't been shy about his relationship status, or the fact that he's polyamorous — that is, he dates multiple people at once.

In an interview on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show on Thursday, February 20, Ne-Yo, whose real name is Shaffer Chimere Smith, said that his kids have asked questions about his personal life — and he's openly answered them.

"I answer them. Honestly. Again, I'm not lying to nobody, not even my children," he said, adding, "It's like, 'Hey, this is daddy's girlfriend. And so is that, and so is that. And so is that.'"

Ne-Yo attends the 2019 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Leon Bennett/Getty Images

The Let Me Love You singer, 45, has brought various women into the lives of his kids and he doesn't see any issues with it.

"She gonna make you some cereal. She gonna cook lunch. And she gonna wash your clothes.' And it's all good," he said. "It's family. It's community. That's what it's about."

Ne-Yo was previously married to Crystal Renay Smith, but the two split in 2023. According to People magazine, Smith accused the entertainer of having a baby with another woman during their marriage. The former couple has three kids together. Ne-Yo also has two kids with his ex, Monyetta Shaw-Carter, and two children with influencer Sade Jenea Bagnerise.

On the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the songwriter said that he currently has four girlfriends.

"It's not about juggling. It ain't about juggling. The key ingredient to making it work is honesty. Everybody gotta be telling the truth, you know what I mean?" he said.

"There's four of them total. There were just three there that particular night," Ne-Yo explained of a recent photo showing him with three women. "It works. It works. Everybody's honest, everybody's telling the truth. Everybody's consenting."

"I feel like I wasted a lot of time just being dishonest about things to the point where had I taken this approach initially, I could have saved myself a lot of headache and heartache," he added.

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