Jeannie Mai said raising her daughter Monaco alone after divorcing Jeezy taught her to trust herself and rediscover her inner strength.
Jeannie Mai opened up about the emotional aftermath of her split from rapper Jeezy and how raising their daughter Monaco alone has become her greatest source of strength and self-discovery.
Speaking publicly after their highly publicized divorce, finalized following Jeezy’s September 2023 filing, Jeannie Mai reflected on the unexpected reality of parenting solo.
“Because it’s never what you picture, you know? You don’t ideally think to have a child and have that whole responsibility to yourself,” she told Sherri Shepherd.
The former The Real co-host described the experience as both challenging and empowering.
“I realized that the gift in being a single mom is that you learn how to trust yourself,” she said. “You learn that you good, you got it, you know instinctively what to do.”
Jeannie Mai and Jeezy started dating in late 2018 after meeting on the set of her daytime talk show.
They made their relationship public in 2019 and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at their Atlanta home in March 2021. Their daughter Monaco was born in January 2022.
But the marriage unraveled quickly. Jeezy filed for divorce in Fulton County Superior Court in September 2023, citing that the relationship was “irretrievably broken.”
Since then, Mai has accused him of infidelity and alleged “explosive outbursts, excessive drinking, and domestic violence,” claims Jeezy has denied.
Despite the turmoil, Mai says motherhood has helped her reconnect with herself.
“You don’t have to check with anybody else. You know exactly what your daughter needs in love, you know exactly how your children need to be seen and heard,” she explained.
She also shared how raising Monaco has helped her heal old wounds.
“I’m reparenting myself through Monaco and I’m learning that I always had it.”
Their divorce was finalized earlier this year, closing a chapter that began with a proposal in April 2020 and ended in a courtroom three years later.
