TEDDY SWIMS OPENS UP ABOUT PREPARING TO RAISE A BIRACIAL CHILD WITH GIRLFRIEND, RAICHE WHITE
“Loosing Control” singer Teddy Swims is counting the days until he and his girlfriend officially become parents. While, he is looking forward to this new chapter in life, he is also taking note of the challenges that lie ahead. Recently, the singer opened up about preparing to raise a biracial child with girlfriend, Raiche Wright.
In an interview with Shannon Sharpe’s on the Club Shay Shay podcast, the popular artist shared his plans as to how he will try to navigate conversations about raising a biracial child as a white man.
“We get looks all the time going places,” Swims, whose real name is Jaten Collin Dimsdale, said on the podcast. “Especially her [referring to Raiche]. She’s got a Black dad and a white mom. She’s shared with me so many times about how it feels. She’s like, ‘I’m never Black enough or I’m never white enough.’”
Swims continued, “She’s gone through a lot more. She’s a way better person to tell that story, especially to my child. I would never want to tell that story for her, because she’s so elegantly living through that and knowing what that’s like.”
Later on in the interview, Swims went on to say that despite the fact that he cannot walk through the world as a person of color, nor will he ever know how it feels to do so, he hopes to “create a safe space” for his child and help them to navigate life as a proud biracial individual who is able to be “authentically” themselves.
“I hope I can create that safe space. I know that kid will go through struggles I never went through. You have to play it as it goes. I’ve never been through being mixed, so I don’t know how to tell that kid how to deal with that.”
“I’ll only be as supportive as I can and tell him, ‘Son, daughter, cis-baby, whatever it is — be you, baby. Be you. Be whatever you want to be. Be whatever feels authentic to you. Don’t let nobody tell you different. Don’t let nobody tell you you’re not allowed to be this or that. That’s all I can really do until we get there.’”
Swims jokingly added, “I don’t know how to give advice on being a mixed baby. I’m just their white daddy [laughs].”
To which Coco Jones, who was also a guest on the show, chimed in at the moment adding, “You got some soul on ya, dog. You’re white with seasoning [laughs].”
Swims and Wright have not officially revealed the sex of their baby. However, in an interview on Australia’s Nova’s Summer Breakfast with Mel & Matty, it appears as if Swims let it slip that the couple could possibly be expecting a baby boy.
Photo: Raiche White Instagram; Teddy Swims Instagram