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Congratulations to the happy couple!
By Alice Kelly — Written on Feb 08, 2022
Shay Mitchell is pregnant for a second time with her long-time partner Matte Babel.
The "Pretty Little Liars" actress announced her pregnancy across social media with various photos and videos of her bump as she simultaneously reveal the happy news and discussed her grief over her grandmother's recent passing.
Mitchell is already a mother to 2-year-old Atlas Noa who she and Babel welcomed in 2019.
Babel and Mitchell are notoriously private about their relationship but we have gotten some sneak peaks into their romance and family life over the years.
Who is Shay Mitchell's baby daddy, Matte Babel?
Babel is Mitchell's partner, the father of her two children and a known name in the music industry.
Matte Babel is Canadian.
Like Mitchell, Babel is a Canadian native. He grew up in Toronto, went to Wilfred Laurier University and was best known as a VJ on MuchMusic (later, Fuse TV).
He also appeared on Canadian teen drama, "Degrassi," back in 2010.
Matte Babel is a close friend of Drake.
Babel is a staple in Drake's entourage and seems to have been friends with him for many years, regularly sharing photos of the two of them together or praise for Drake's music.
“Drake’s super interesting to me," Babel said of his friend back in 2014, "I mean just to be the phenom he is and be where he is in his life and be as young as he is and not have really changed at all."
"To me, it’s so fascinating… being around that guy. He hasn’t changed at all. He’s pretty much the exact same person with more expensive problems now.”
Matte Babel is now a music manager who keeps his private life private.
Aside from the occasional appearance in Mitchell's YouTube videos, you won't see much of Babel.
He keeps things lowkey in the music industry, working behind the scenes as a manager — incidentally, he manages Drake’s business portfolio.
Matte Babel and Shay Mitchell were first romantically linked in 2017.
The pair have never quite confirmed when they started dating and were moving in the same social circles for years before their relationship was first publicized in 2017.
In January 2017, sources claimed the pair had been together “for a few months” and “are serious and are having fun together.”
The following year, Mitchell revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage and lost "the child of [her] hopes and dreams," but still did not publicly discuss her relationship with Babel
It wasn't until she launched her YouTube channel in 2019, documenting her pregnancy with her first child, that she shared details about her relationship with Babel.
Shay Mitchell and Matte Babel are not in a rush to get married.
Mitchell has been transparent about the couple's decision not prioritize marriage.
Having welcomed Atlas in 2019 and later discussed their plans to welcome more children in future, Mitchell said in a 2021 interview that marriage was not in their future plans for the time being.
“I don’t know if I’ve done anything in order,” she said. “I didn’t get married before a child. I had a child, didn’t get married. I don’t really know if that’s in the cards of us. I think we both agree; maybe it’s just me.”
“There’s no pressure here. I love it. I love the fact that we come home, and every day I’m like, ‘I choose you, and you choose me.’ It keeps us on our toes. I’m like, ‘Hey, I can walk out. I don’t need to go through a lawyer, I can just walk out.’ And same with him. It keeps it sexy.”
Matte Babel seems excited to welcome a second baby with Shay Mitchell.
The doting father occasionally posts tributes to Mitchell and their daughter, Atlas.
Upon the annoucement of their second pregnancy, Babel shared an image of Mitchell's baby bump and she held their daughter. He captioned it with a simply heart-eyes emoji.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.