Key Takeaways:

• Kehlani’s reveal followed last year’s legal proceedings and public speculation about their parenting.
• Their ex, Javaughn Young-White, previously accused Kehlani of cult involvement but later retracted the claims.
• Kehlani spoke candidly about the emotional toll of the case and how it deepened their connection to faith and parenting.

Kehlani now has full custody of their daughter, Adeya Nomi Parrish Young-White, they revealed on Monday (Dec. 8).

During their visit to “The Breakfast Club,” the “Folded” singer was asked about their explosive custody battle with Javaughn Young-White, with whom they are no longer in contact. “I sat silent for most of it. I was very calm,” Kehlani told Loren LoRosa, noting that Adeya’s father “backtracked pretty much all” of his accusations.

For context, Javaughn alleged in August 2024 that Kehlani was part of a “cult” and had put Adeya “in harm’s way.” He later retracted the claims in a public statement that same month. “I do not need to paint an unfair image of my co-parent for my justifiable feelings to be respected by the court of law,” the guitarist wrote in a since-deleted social media post.

As Kehlani told “The Breakfast Club,” their only focus was shielding their child after an incredibly private situation became internet discourse. “I can bear anything attached to my name. It might hurt. I might throw a little bit [of] a fit about it, but I’m an adult,” they explained. “When you see your child’s name attached to these things [or] your child’s photo next to certain words, and certain verbiage, and certain things, that’s a bit of a heartbreaker.”

The While We Wait singer added that the experience brought them closer to their faith. “I probably learned the most about God through that situation because I was on my knees,” they said. “I have been through many things that were way worse than this, and ultimately it was just, ‘Think about your kid, think about your kid.’”

It’s also important to remember that Kehlani was already under fire at the time for their public support of Palestine. Elsewhere in their sit-down, the Oakland native revealed that’s something they’re still navigating.

“People who are very obsessed with disliking me and were waiting for a gotcha moment again, and a moment to prove she’s so f**king weird, well, hold on to that forever,” Kehlani said, before pointing out that those critics tend to be “very miserable.”

When speaking on how the custody battle affected Adeya, Kehlani shared that she was “very understanding” and approaching everything “day by day.”