Ciara and her husband Russell Wilson recently announced that they’re expecting their third baby together. And though fans are happy for them about the news, it wouldn’t come as a shock if her ex-fiancé and the father of her first child, Future, was not in a celebratory mood.

 

The announcement was certainly creative and came in the form of a video for a song called How We Roll featuring Chris Brown (ugh). The song featured the lyrics, “You look at me like that again, we make another kid…You my heart I’m your rib.”

Having more babies was always on both Russell and Ciara’s agenda. And when Russell proposed more babies, literally, by getting down on one knee and giving his wife some flowers as she guest hosted The Ellen Degeneres Show in 2022, it was just another indication of this couple’s love for each other.

Ciara’s marriage to Russell is a far cry from what she had with Future. Russell was quick to open his arms to Ciara’s son, also named Future, when they began dating in 2015. By the next year, they tied the knot. And since then, their love has been obvious, and it is so loving – despite several attempts by Future to disrupt Ciara and her new family.

 

In both his music and his interviews, Future has taken shots at Ciara and Russell over how things ended with her, as well as Russell’s involvement in his son’s life. During a 2015 interview on The Breakfast Club, he condemned Ciara for bringing Russell around their son, saying:

“You don’t bring a man around your son,” he said. “You’ve known this man for a few months and you’re bringing him around your kid? Who does that?”

Future implied his son being introduced to Russell so quickly was part of a publicity stunt. Elsewhere in the interview, he spoke about some tweets that landed him in hot water, which included a gun next to a football, symbolizing Russell’s football career, which he insists came from a fake page. He also spoke about a tweet he shared stating he wasn’t cursed anymore. Charlemagne suggested the “curse” was referring to Ciara.

“I’m back,” he told Charlamagne, avoiding the question, but also kind of answering it at the same time. “I guess you gotta have a baby or something to knock the curse off. I ain’t thinking about her, man.”

 

But he is. And not only is he thinking about her, he’s thinking about her husband, too. Recently, Future released a song with rapper Quavo that included a line taking a dig at Russell, earning him a lot of hate on social media from fans who wondered why he hasn’t moved on with his life yet, especially considering it was his infidelity that caused the engagement to be called off.

It’s not an easy thing to see a past partner move on. I can empathize with that. And I can imagine the difficulty that constantly seeing news updates and in-depth profiles about your ex being engaged, then getting married and then having children adds to that. But he’s forgetting that he and Ciara were engaged, too. She was ready for marriage with him. Amid their engagement, she gushed to PEOPLE about their upcoming wedding that never materialized, saying:

“I think I’ll be part bridezilla, I’m not going to lie,” she joked. “But I want to be a happy one! I still want it to be a fun process, but I want the dress to be perfect, I want the cake to be perfect, I want the food to be perfect.”

Their son was only three months old when they split. But her walking away from him didn’t mean she didn’t still want what she was after with him. She was intentional about wanting to get married. So when Russell came along and proved to be what she was looking for, in addition to being a great stepdad, why would she have waited?

 

Future’s behaviour is probably all too familiar for mothers dealing with what women call “bitter baby daddies”. It’s all part of the discourse in changing the narrative about single mothers, often referred to as “bitter baby mamas”. Several women, including myself, are speaking up on social media about their coparenting and parallel parenting experiences, comparing notes on patterned behaviour by men who are no longer with the mothers of their children.

That behaviour includes how Future condemned Ciara for bringing Russell around their son. It’s a common attempt at exerting control, often used by men upset that the mothers of their children are moving on. It’s not uncommon for men to slut shame their exes, implying that they are promiscuous for moving on too quickly, even if a fair amount of time has passed. 

But while Future was being bitter, Russell was settling into his new role as a stepdad. And a loving one at that, snapping adorable pictures like these and talking to Maria Shriver about young Future in the Architects of Change web series. 

“She has a little man, he’s awesome and cute as can be. A little baby Future. Such a special, special kid. I think about him, and being a stepdad. I’m a stepdad now.”

Future is rumoured to have up to eight kids by several different women. Often, those women surface on social media to complain about his absence. So it must be infuriating that by all appearances, Russell is doing a better job of parenting his own son than he is. Especially considering the high hopes Ciara had when Future was born. 

 

She shared this caption commending her then fiancé on his immediate bond with their son:

“From The Moment Baby Future Arrived, He Was Holding Your Hand So Tight, He Knew You Were Dad,” she wrote. “Seeing That Melted My Heart When I Look At Him, I See You Shining Through, And Thats One Of The Most Beautiful Things Ever! You Are Truly One Of The Realist, Most Caring, Hard Working, Loving Dads In The World, and I’m So Proud Of You. I Love You.”

Fans who have followed Ciara’s journey to marriage and motherhood have become really invested in her partnership with Russell. She is the proverbial fairytale ending that so many women are looking for, especially if they’ve been the victims of abuse in any form or infidelity. It’s also why so many of her fans tout "Ciara’s Prayer", a song by Summer Walker, that is essentially a prayer for a love much like Ciara and Russell’s, as a war cry for helping to manifest the kind of love she’s found in Russell.

Typically, I write about the post-divorce glow. I love exploring the success, happiness and wisdom that comes to women who walk away from toxic relationships, or even just unhappy ones. But rarely have we talked about what it looks like when a woman leaves a relationship and gets into another one that genuinely feeds the soul. And that’s what we’ve seen with Ciara and Russell. He loves her out loud and she loves him and their four babies right back.