Cam Newton is a father of eight, and recently went on the Club Shay Shay podcast to say he still wants more children.
The podcast host, Shannon Sharpe, asked Newton, 34, whether he still wanted to add more kids to his robust tribe and his answer was a resounding yes.
“People saying, ‘You having all these kids.’ I take care of all my kids,” Newton said. “See, that’s the thing. I always wanted a big family. I come from that so I want that.”
The athlete then pivoted to discuss the importance of co-parenting with the mothers of his children. There are three presently.
“I owe due diligence to each woman who [has] given me that, and I respect them the same. Do I have jurisdiction over who they talk to? No. But I owe a service to loving them unconditionally no matter what they do, and we have to co-parent together,” he added.
The former Carolina Panthers quarterback recently had a baby with comedian Jasmin Brown, who he’s been dating since 2021. They announced the birth of their first child together, a baby girl, in March. Prior to Brown, Newton had a child with Instagram model LaReina Shaw and claims her oldest son from a previous relationship as his own. The 34-year-old shares his first four children with his longtime ex-girlfriend Kia Proctor and he claims her oldest daughter as his own, too. They were together for about seven years after they started dating in 2013.
Sharpe went on to challenge Newton about why he hasn’t stayed with previous women but is choosing to stay with Brown, asking what makes her so special.
“It’s a respect,” he began, before touching on his exes. “And we can’t allow our personal vendettas to get in between raising these children.”
He continued, “And did I want it to be this way? When I was 7, 12 years old, I wanted to have a family. I wanted to be married with a house and a picket fence and all that. That just wasn’t what my life panned out to be. I proudly say I have eight children. Six biologically through me. And I don’t believe in stepchildren. What my biological kids get, everybody gets. I don’t have no favorites. I’m raising kings and queens, and I have uncomfortable conversations with my children.”
Newton also explained that he’s an active father who attends his children’s sporting events and being present is important to him. Sharpe circled back to his initial question asking him about how difficult it was to leave his long-term relationship with Proctor.
“I wanna be an example for people that I’ve never proclaimed to be perfect. Learn from me,” the athlete indirectly answered before divulging into other topics.
Meanwhile, some fans in the comments criticized the athlete for saying he loves all the women he has children with unconditionally, considering he sued Proctor over a car he gave her.