Mario has a lot to celebrate this week. The 39-year-old “Let Me Love You” singer announced in an Instagram Story on Monday (Jan. 26) that he and girlfriend Esmeralda Rios have welcomed their first child together. The news came in a slide in which Mario is seen wearing blue hospital scrubs and a matching hairnet with a jokey caption in which he refers to himself as “Doctor Barrett” — Mario’s full name is Mario Dewar Barrett.
“Women are God’s greatest creation cuz what I witness today was ONLY GODS work!” he wrote. “Healthy baby boy!” At press time Mario had not revealed the child’s name or when they were born.
According to People magazine, Mario announced last August that he and Rios were expecting a child in an Instagram story in which he laid his hand over Rios’ bare baby bump. “It’s a whole universe in there!,” he wrote at the time. “I can’t wait.”
Mario, who released his sixth studio album, Glad You Came, in December 2024, dropped the 8-song WEP Mood Swings in late 2025 featuring the title tracks, “Moan,” “Still in Love,” “Fortune Cookie” and “Nobody But Us” as well as “Friends” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
As he and Rios were awaiting their bundle of joy, Mario made an unexpected pop-in at Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine tour stop Inglewood, Calif. on November 9, joining a star-studded cast of surprise guests at the show. In addition to hitting their catalog highlights, the women performed for an audience that included Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Rihanna, Queen Latifah and actress Jenifer Lewis (The Wedding Ringer), with O.T. Genasis and Blxst hopping up to run through their hits, along with Mario, who lead a sing-along to his 2004 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 classic “Let Me Love You.”
