Gospel singer Bri Babineaux gets candid about adjusting to motherhood: ‘It was tough’
Photo: Bri Babineaux Instagram / Illustration: EEW Magazine
By Dani Paige // Motherhood // EEW Magazine Online
Although viral gospel singing sensation, Briana Babineaux Fontenot – who goes by Bri – is a happy and blessed new mom to a precious seven-month-old baby boy, she doesn’t pretend that motherhood hasn’t had its challenges.
In a new interview with talk show Moms Actually, the 27-year-old, best-selling, award-winning artist shared the joy and tears that come with being a brand-new mom while married to a husband who works a demanding job and is often absent.
“It was bad. I literally cried,” Bri told co-hosts Blair, Morgan, and Sopha during the fun and at times deeply personal couch conversation in an episode titled, “I Was Not Ready!” While Bri was carrying Eli Arias Fontenot, the couple’s son born on Nov. 2, hubby Keeslon Fontenot was working offshore in the oil industry.
Mom Bri Babineaux Fontenot, Dad Keeslon Fontenot, and Baby Eli Arias Fontenot all pose for a beautiful family photo. (Credit: Bri Babineaux Instagram)
“I’m like, this is our first baby, and I felt like he really missed, he missed every important – what I thought was important at the time – experience that I really wanted to share with him,” admitted the anointed songbird who became an online sensation in 2015 when a video of her singing Tonéx’s “Make Me Over” racked up millions of views.
At the time, the Internet fame set off a whirlwind, landing Bri a record deal with Marquis Boone Enterprises/Tyscot and catapulting the then college student to what felt like overnight success.
In 2016, Bri released her debut album, Keys To My Heart, which shot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart and earned her two prestigious Stellar Awards for New Artist of the Year and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year.
Two years later, in September 2018, she got hitched at City Club at River Ranch in Lafayette, La. Then, by 2021, the newlyweds were expecting their first baby but unable to physically be together most of the time. Determined to find ways to connect, Bri and Keeslon chatted through video calls, but that didn’t fill the void. “I actually wanted him to be there and us share that moment together. But, I mean, he was there for the most important part of it, which was for the birth, and so I was grateful.”
When asked to elaborate on Keeslon’s employment, the “I’ll Be the One” singer said, “Being in the oil field, sometimes, you’re gone for an extremely long time. Baby, if you ain’t prepared for that offshore life, I’m telling you, nothing can prepare you for it!”
Bri and Keeslon pose for an adorable snap! (Credit: Bri Babineaux Instagram)
Bri continued, “So, sometimes, he has a set schedule where he could be gone for three weeks. Sometimes, he’s gone for two months. So, it just varies depending on what the job load is. But he was gone, and it was tough, you know? It was very, very tough.”
Even after giving birth to a healthy son, the difficulties and growing pains did not go away. Bri, who was used to being booked, busy, and sharing the gospel through song, found it difficult to remain in one place for an extended period.
“I think the biggest challenge for me was not being able to move, being stationed in one place, and we were stationed in that one place for four months,” she said. “So, I could remember this one time when I just kind of like had it, and I left. I just grabbed the keys. I don’t even think my husband even realized that I was gone. I grabbed the keys, and I drove to an empty parking lot, and I just cried.”
Awww! It’s mom and Baby Eli. (Credit: Bri Babineaux Instagram)
Tearful and tough moments like this have given her a new appreciation for the daunting role of motherhood. “Most people don’t understand,” she said. “I commend mothers.”
As Bri reflected on personally adjusting to her responsibilities, she said, “I’m a new mom and I’m a wife, so I’m not only trying to juggle being a new mom, I’m still trying to make sure I do my wifely duties and make sure my husband is taken care of, and trying to make sure that I have enough time for myself.”
From the outside looking in, some may have assumed the widely known and celebrated mommy adapted effortlessly. Instead, she said, “I didn’t know how to juggle it, and I’m telling you, nobody can really prepare you for it until you actually get in it.”
Watch the full interview below.
