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Confirmed! Tyler Perry Is Going to Be a Dad, Girlfriend Is "About Seven or Eight Months Pregnant"

Get the scoop on the parents-to-be

By Marc Malkin Sep 24, 2014 11:23 PMTags
Tyler Perry, Gelila BekeleDimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Tyler Perry is going to be a dad.

I can confirm that the entertainment mogul's on-again, off-again model girlfriend of several years, Gelila Bekele, is expecting their first child.

News of their impending parenthood was revealed at Perry's recent 45th birthday party in Los Angeles...sorta.

While the Medea star didn't announce the news to his guests, he alluded to it during a speech.

"He said he had to start getting used to not getting a lot of sleep, because his life was about to change in a big way," a guest at the bash tells me. "He said, 'Some of you know what I'm talking about.'"

The guest said Bekele is about "seven or eight months pregnant."

A friend of the couple reportedly shared the news on social media, but the post was quickly deleted.

Another pal posted of pic on Instagram of himself with Bekele about a month ago, identifying her as a "new good friend" who was seven months pregnant with a "baby boy." Yup, that post has been deleted, too.

Perry has declined to comment on the pregnancy rumors.

Bekele, 28, is a model and an activist who is affiliated with many different non-profits, including charity: water.

During an appearance on Steve Harvey in April 2013, Perry said he wanted to be a dad. "I know I would be a great father," he said. "I don't want to work this hard, I don't want to have all of this and not leave it to my children. I also know, that as hard as I'm working–doing 20 hours a day–now is not the time."

He added, "[E]ventually, I'll get there."

The birthday bash was a star-studded affair.

"I had never thrown myself a birthday party, so for my 45th I wanted to do something special," Perry wrote on Facebook below a photo of the party tent. "Jennifer Holliday, Desiree Coleman Jackson, Tevin Campbell, Ledisi, Monica, Jazmine Sullivan, Tamia, Mary Mary, LeAnn Rimes, Yolanda Adams, Rachelle Ferrell and Stevie Wonder brought the house down. It was a night I'll never forget. Thanks to all of them for making this night special for me. My next party will be at 50. Gonna mark it every 5 years. A celebration in thanks to God for my life."

We could only imagine what the baby shower will be like.