Professor Green celebrates ‘bittersweet’ Father’s Day as baby son finally ‘changes how star feels about the word dad’
PROFESSOR Green is celebrating a bittersweet’ Father’s Day after revealing his baby son has changed how he feels about the word dad.
The rapper, real name Stephen Manderson, and his actress girlfriend Karima McAdams, 36, welcomed their adorable baby boy Slimane Ray three months ago.
Stephen, 37, says that before becoming a dad himself, he found Father’s Day an occasion that was plagued by bad memories which he couldn’t enjoy.
The star was abandoned by his father Peter as a toddler and suffered unbearable pain when his dad took his own life 13 years ago.
But Stephen says he is now able to finally forgive his father after becoming a dad himself.
Stephen told the Sunday Mirror: “My own dad not facing his responsibilities as a father taught me to be a man – I would never make the mistakes he has.
“It’s like most occasions, Father’s Day. It’s like Christmas. I’ve not been one for Christmas until now. Father’s Day this weekend is definitely bittersweet for me.
“Father’s Day was not something I got to enjoy with my father very much. But now being a father means something completely different.
“The birth of our son is going to completely change how I feel about the word ‘dad’. I never thought I would be the kind of person who counted in weeks how young a baby is. But here we are – he’s 13 weeks!”
Stephen grew up with his grandmother Pat after being first abandoned by his teenage mother.
He was abandoned yet again just a few years later by his father who left to be with another woman.
Then, in 2008, Stephen’s dad hanged himself. The father and son had not seen each other since a row eight years earlier.
The shock death prompted Stephen to develop severe anxiety and mental health issues.
His anxiety got so bad that he was even hospitalised on multiple occasions.
Thankfully, the star has since found happiness with his actress girlfriend Karima who he began dating in the summer of 2019.
Green was previously married to former Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh, but split in 2017.
Pro Green had previously told fans he’d been “overwhelmed” ever since the couple found out they were expecting.
He wrote on Instagram at the time: “And then, all of a sudden everything is different. It all makes sense.
“It’s finally gotten to the point where it’s impossible to hide, and unless I wanted to wear prosthetics (which Karima did try to enforce – she wanted to give me a nose like Cyrano De Bergerac?! Some sort of drama school fantasy…
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“Obviously I was having none of it) there was no more sneaking into appointments – not even during the current climate, having to wear a mask and keeping my hood up with the strings pulled tight has stopped me from getting caught out at the hospital (but big up the security for keeping it shtum! Solid).
“I’ve been overwhelmed with excitement, admiration and curiosity ever since we found out.
“I’m excited about meeting you. Holding you. Teaching you. Learning from you.”