By Tonya Whitaker
NDG Staff Writer
Season 3 American Idol winner Fantasia announced during her concert in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 31 that she is indeed pregnant.
Before she sang Even Angels, Barrino shared her news with those in attendance.
“You are the first persons that I share this news with, and I share this with you because I can relate to you … This child that I’m carrying; God has given me this child. And I don’t have to hide it from none of y’all.”
The Grammy-winning singer already has a 9-year-old daughter, Zion. The identity of the baby’s father and her due date are unknown. According to online reports, Fantasia is approximately three months pregnant. Rumors are circulating that the father is Antwaun Cook, the married man she had an affair with in 2010.
It appears the two have been in an on-again, off-again relationship. In June, Young, Black and Fabulous published photos of Barrino and Antwaun Cook snorkeling and relaxing on a boat in Barbados, and it is obvious that the singer was pregnant.
For months, gossipers have attempted to find out what was behind Barrino’s unsuspected weight gain. In April, we reported in NDG Gossip that fans began to speculate she was pregnant when she appeared on stage a little heavier than usual during a performance at an Indiana casino. Barrino put on extra weight for her upcoming portray of the late gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in a movie. According to media reports, Barrino gained between 30 to 40 pounds for the role.
Last year, Fantasia was in the middle of a messy love triangle with Cook. His wife, Paula Cook, left him, and sued Barrino for ruining their marriage. Fantasia’s did reveal last year on VH1’s Behind the Music that she had an abortion when she found out she was carrying Cook’s baby. In addition, in August 2010, her problems continued when she hospitalized for an attempted drug overdose.
According to CNN, the singer’s agent did not respond to the station’s request for information pertaining to her pregnancy.
