And baby makes five! Dad of four, Metta World Peace has a fifth little Peace on the way. It will be his first child with his wife, Maya Sandiford-Artest. They’ve been together for 12 years, during which Ron Artest also became a granddad. But his fifth baby was a wish they both held on for a long time. It wasn’t an easy journey to conceive, as Maya now revealed that they were considering different options. They made the pregnancy public via People after a very difficult trimester.

“The first trimester was an absolute nightmare,” said Maya. “I was sick every day. I feel like women don’t talk enough about how brutal the first trimester can be, maybe in fear of appearing ungrateful.” We hardly hear from Mrs. World Peace but she’s opening up about this to take the glamourous rose-tinted glasses off about pregnancy. “But I’m here to say that all women, the first tri can be absolute s— and I think it’s okay to say that and talk about it.”

The NBA legend would’ve seen his partners go through that four times before. He has a son, Jeron, with his former high school girlfriend, Jennifer Palma. He has three children -Sadie, Ron III and Diamond – with Basketball Wives: LA star, Kimsha Hatfield. His eldest daughter, Sadie has a child too.

Ron and Maya are expecting a son. It wasn’t easy getting there either. Maya disclosed that her doctor said she was not ovulating, and they were considering IVF. Few months after the doctor’s visit, they were surprised and “lucky” to discover they were expecting. Now they’re past the difficult part.

Metta World Peace and his wife are close to the finish line

Compared to the start, the second trimester has been a “walk in the park” for Maya. She’s in the early heavy-lifting third trimester period now. It’s not as glamorous either. She’s feeling uncomfortable with the extra weight, back pain, heartburn, and all the pregnancy bells and whistles.

The Lakers star stayed lowkey in the pregnancy announcement. But Maya gushed he is a proactive supportive husband. The guy who was Kobe Bryant’s enforcer is being the best Robin once more to make his wife comfortable, meeting all the food demands, giving her massages, holding her hair back when the nausea hits, and putting up with all the pregnancy emotions like a champ.

He elevates Maya as the real hero, righteously here. He’d rather look forward to playing hoops with Little Peace when he gets here.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.