Meet Oritsé Williams' ‘miracle baby’! JLS star and wife share first pictures of 'secret' baby after devastating miscarriages
Keeping a secret isn’t always an easy thing to do – but for Oritsé Williams and his wife Kazz it gave them something special to hold on to. Just five weeks ago the singer – who shot to fame with boyband JLS alongside Aston Merrygold, JB Gill and Marvin Humes – announced in an adorable Instagram post that his wife of two years was pregnant.
On 14 October, the 37-year-old told his followers, “Overwhelmed with emotion, love, and awe, words can’t express how I feel about my Queen.” But what fans don’t know is that their baby boy had already safely arrived 11 days before. "We decided to keep our pregnancy news to just close friends and family,” Oritsé – who is already dad to a 10-year-old son, Omré, from a previous relationship – tells us during our exclusive newborn shoot.
Born at 6.47am on 3 October, weighing 7lb 8oz, Shiva Zion Olumidé Williams’ arrival was a long time coming for the couple. “Previously, we had two miscarriages – we were devastated,” Kazz, 40, explains. “When we found out we were pregnant this time around, I was happy and scared at the same time.”
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As the couple invite OK! into their beautiful home, it’s clear to see they’re very much in a baby bubble. So much so that Oritsé – who is also a solo artist – can’t help but sing nursery rhymes in a reggae style to the baby adoringly. (The Wheels On The Bus being a favourite!). Here, they chat about their journey, finding strength in each other and cherishing these special moments…
Hi, Oritsé and Kazz! Congratulations. How are you?
Oritsé: Honestly, I'm on cloud nine. I’m in complete awe of my baby boy, he is truly a blessing and I'm proud of us.
What did the journey to get here look like for you?
Kazz: It’s definitely been a journey. I was so excited when I first got pregnant, only to find out at our three-month scan that I had miscarried. Then we got pregnant again soon after that, and miscarried again. It really affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. I was crippled with anxiety, literally crippled to the point I had to use crutches to move.
Oritsé: We suffered a lot of pain, but to see Kazz go through it physically, to the point where she struggled to walk, was truly heartbreaking. I really tried everything possible to get her back to her old self, but nothing seemed to work.
Kazz: Oritsé was amazing, he supported me so much.
Do you remember the day you found out you were expecting again?
Kazz: After a year of trying, we decided to look at IVF as an option and had a meeting at our local hospital to learn about it. The specialists took us through what it would mean, from injections, medications and procedures, and I was so taken aback by it as it's quite an overwhelming process. After the meeting, I started to feel a bit sick, so I decided to take a pregnancy test – and it was positive. I couldn’t believe that on the same day we looked into IVF we had a positive pregnancy test. Oritsé was in the studio and I called him to say, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’
Oritsé: At that point, I let the producer know I had to go home [laughs]. There was no way I could focus, I needed to get home to my wife.
How was the pregnancy – did you have any worries?
Kazz: Due to the previous losses, I suffered from anxiety throughout most of my pregnancy. I booked a private scan every week just for reassurance, up until my 20-week scan, when I started to calm down a little. I also found out I had gestational diabetes, which meant changing my diet completely. Oritsé made sure I was eating healthy food and cooked for me daily – I did miss bingeing on pizzas and ice cream though!
Now you have beautiful Shiva in your lives…
Kazz: We are so blessed to have him.
Oritsé: He is such a blessing. Our journey has been hard and we are grateful for the support and love we received when we opened up about our previous losses. We had no idea that it was common and that many of our friends went through it, too. I had a lot of men reach out to me, thanking me for being open about my mental health struggles when it came to baby loss – it affects us, too. I don’t think partners are acknowledged when it comes to this topic.
Kazz: Absolutely, I agree that partners’ feelings aren’t really considered when it comes to baby loss. We have been really mindful of everyone’s journeys, too, which is why I chose not to share my pregnancy on social media until he had arrived. We just needed to go on this journey privately and safely.
Oritsé: I was on tour with JLS, my solo career was also kicking off, we had just got married and bought a new house – life was amazing. Then we went through complete heartbreak with the two losses, especially as we were so excited to start our little family.
Talk us through the birth – were you prepared for Shiva’s arrival?
Oritsé: Kazz is so organised – with everything, I’m more of a freestyler. We found out the gender ahead of time – but I always knew it was going to be a boy.
Kazz: Since I had gestational diabetes and he was a big baby, I was advised to have a C-section. It was all planned for 4 October but he made an appearance the day before. I started having contractions around 2am and when we got to the hospital, things happened pretty quickly. Thankfully, Oritsé was by my side.
That must have been a really special moment.
Kazz: I’ll never forget it. Oritsé was singing throughout, keeping me calm, but also jumping around waiting for the arrival of Shiva. I had a panic attack before they started the procedure as I didn’t realise how quickly my legs would go numb, it was such a weird feeling. Once they pulled the baby out, Oritsé asked if he could do skin to skin and whipped off his top so fast!
Oritsé: I wanted skin-to-skin right away! The surgeon laughed and asked Kazz, “Do you think you will get to hold the baby at some point?” He also joked that he was going to book me to sing at C-sections as he was so entertained – now that would be a different sort of gig!
We love that you sang Shiva into the world…
Oritsé: He arrived to To Zion by Lauryn Hill – a song that both Kazz and I love, which holds a very special meaning to us now as ‘Zion’ is one of Shiva’s middle names.
His names are beautiful – can you talk us through them?
Oritsé: Shiva is one of the highest deities in South Asian culture, it represents the destroyer of darkness and negativity, and also the creator of all things beautiful and hopeful. Then Zion was a name we’ve both loved for a while. It means a place of unity, peace and freedom, and it resonates very deeply within Caribbean culture and my African roots. Finally, Olumidé is one of my middle names, and it means my hero has come. All three represent our South Asian, Caribbean and African cultures.
Has Shiva met his big brother Omré yet?
Oritsé: Not yet, but we’re really looking forward to it when the opportunity allows. Kazz has been amazing and has been constantly thinking about how Shiva and Omré can connect. We want to put a picture of Omré above Shiva’s cot so he can always see his brother, and Kazz has printed T-shirts that say ‘Big Bro’ and ‘Little Bro’.
Now let’s talk parenting styles – will you be ‘good cop, bad cop’?!
Kazz: I definitely think I’ll be the strict one and Oritsé the playful one.
Oritsé: I’ve been looking into different classes to enrol him in when he’s older [laughs]. I’m thinking martial arts, Scouts, swimming club
How would you feel about Shiva joining a boyband?
Oritsé: He’ll be a solo artist! The music industry is tough, though, so I’d be happy whatever he chooses to do. If he wants to sing or write songs, we’ll support and protect him along the way. I don’t want Shiva to be the next Oritsé, he needs to be himself.
Kazz: …and one is enough [laughs].
When you go back on tour with JLS, will Shiva be going with you?
Oritsé: How could he not? I want him attached to me everywhere I go. I want him to know his daddy as someone who is always there – not just when it comes to nappy changing!
Kazz: With everyone’s kids being on tour, they already have a crèche and a soft play area. I’m sure it’ll be fun.
Oritsé: It’s funny, when Kazz was pregnant I’d play my single Sober to her belly, and now that Shiva is here, it’s like he recognises it. Becoming a dad has really inspired my music.
Have the JLS boys sent their love to baby Shiva?
Oritsé: They have, they’ve sent their congratulations, which was lovely of them. Alexandra Burke messaged, too – it’s great to see how much love is out there.
Is your family complete or could another baby be on the cards?
Oritsé: Oh, he’s so cute, we have to make another one.
Kazz: Oritsé was telling me yesterday that we shouldn’t wait too long [laughs]. I was thinking of a five-year age gap but maybe just one or two now. Shiva is also a really good sleeper, which helps. Although, everyone keeps saying ‘wait until the terrible twos’, so we’ll see!
For support following pregnancy loss, contact Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, on 0800 0147 800 or at tommys.org
Shoot producer: Will Perry, photographer: Chelsea White, assistant: Michelle White, stylist: Shelina Somani-Lewis, hair & make-up: Halimah at HbeautyLTD, video: Cheolan Jeong
