Eddie Murphy, Who Fathered 10th Child at 57, Was Called 'Crazy' — His Kids Are 'Center' of His Life

Before age 60, Eddie Murphy was already a father to ten children! Most men thought he was crazy for having such a big family, but the actor's views on being a father were admirable.

Eddie Murphy auditioned to star on "Saturday Night Live (SNL)" when he was 18. He then began making films from the age of 20 and eventually reached a point in his life where he felt he needed to back off.

The actor wanted some time off where he could sit on a couch and be a father. His first try at having a family was with Paulette McNeely, linked to him in 1989, at what some said was the height of his career.

With McNeely, a mysterious woman who was never photographed and met the star in 1988, Eddie had his first child and son, Eric. According to reports, the relationship was short-lived, and the actor moved on to Nicole Mitchell.

He welcomed his second child and daughter, Bria, with her that same year. By November 1990, Eddie was now with his new girlfriend, Tamara Hood Johnson, who helped him welcome his third child and son, Christian.

Like McNeely, not much was known about Johnson, and she was confused with SWV's Tamara Johnson-George or Taj. In 2013, Johnson made the news when she sued a production company for reportedly stealing the "Hollywood Exes" idea from her.

Christian followed in his father's footsteps by becoming an actor, and in 2011, he starred in "Cougars, Inc." However, Eddie wasn't done having children and was set to welcome many more over the years.

EDDIE TAKES A DNA TEST AFTER BECOMING A DAD OF SEVEN

In January 1993, Eddie and Nicole married and welcomed another son, Myles, that November. The following year, in October, the couple was blessed with another child, daughter Shayne Audra.

Nicole and the actor met in 1988 at the NAACP Image Awards Show before starting a relationship. The couple lived together for almost two years before tying the knot on March 18, 1993, in the Grand Ballroom of New York City's The Plaza Hotel.

Nicole was the only woman who had the most children with Eddie. In 1999 and 2002, the pair welcomed two daughters, Zola Ivy and Bella Zahra, bringing the total of their children to five.

Sadly, their relationship eventually failed, leading to Nicole filing for divorce in August 2005. Irreconcilable differences were cited as the reason for the separation, and it was finalized on April 17, 2006, with Eddie stating via his representative at the time:

“The welfare of our children is our main concern and their best interest is our first priority.”

After his marriage concluded, the "Nutty Professor" star began dating Melanie Brown from the Spice Girls and businesswoman Tracey Edmonds. In 2007, Eddie and Brown welcomed a daughter, Angel Iris.

The actor once publicly questioned Angel's paternity until a DNA test proved she was his. In 2006, when Brown's pregnancy became news, she and Eddie started feuding, with him believing she wasn't expecting his child.

After the test proved him wrong, the "Shrek" star was repeatedly blamed for not wanting to be in the child's life. However, after several months, Eddie started to warm up to his ex-girlfriend while at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival.

A source revealed that while the actor was promoting "Shrek Forever After," he spoke a lot about his children. The insider said ever since then, Eddie has been making an effort with Brown so he could "get to know their daughter" and all his children:

"They're one big happy, blended family."

EDDIE'S CURRENT FIANCÉE BECAME STEPMOM AND MADE HIM DAD OF TEN

In 2012, Eddie found a new love in the form of Australian model Paige Butcher. Two months into their relationship, the pair seemed to be going strong, being spotted together several times.

Despite the age difference, Butcher was nineteen years younger than Eddie; by 2015, the couple was still together. In March 2015, the former model was spotted with the actor's children, Bria and Shayne, during an annual holiday to Maui, Hawaii.

In 2016, Eddie showed the world how he'd blended his family and that Butcher was completely welcome when he was seen with her on a special outing. Nicole, Eddie, and Butcher all came together to support Bria at the premiere of her movie, "Amateur Night," with the actor confessing:

“The brightest part of my life is just my kids. My relationships with them. And my world revolves around them.”

During their relationship, Butcher and the actor welcomed his ninth child, a baby girl named Izzy Oona Murphy. In August 2018, Eddie's representative announced that the couple was expecting their second child that December after being together for over six years.

Before the star's tenth child was born, it was revealed that the actor had proposed to Butcher. The engagement was confirmed after Butcher sparked rumors when she was seen wearing a large diamond ring on her left hand in Los Angeles on September 24, 2018.

EDDIE'S BIG FAMILY IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF HIS LIFE

In December 2019, while Eddie was on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and had welcomed his tenth child, he discussed people's reactions to him having so many children. DeGeneres' audience audibly reacted in shock when they heard about Eddie's children, leading him to say:

“Men kind of look at me like this, ‘He's crazy!’”

He joked about how women seemed to find it sexy that he had many children, but he found nothing wrong with having a big family! The star also shared with DeGeneres that he'd welcomed his first grandchild that same year.

Eddie [Murphy] said he was in a period where blessings were raining down on him.

In March 2021, during the WTF podcast, Eddie confessed that he felt "blessed" to have his children and noted, "I don't have one bad seed." Continuing to speak about the pride he had in his brood, the actor said:

"My kids are so great, normal people — and nobody is like the Hollywood jerk kid."

Eddie and his fiancée welcomed their son, Max, in November 2018. One thing that the star learned over the years was not to put his career, where he made three different movies a year, above his children's needs, stating:

"I realized that if you put your children first you never make a bad decision."

Speaking to Vanity Fair in January 2020, Eddie revealed that his career wasn't the main focus of his life, noting: "At the center of my life is my family and my kids." He described it as his "principal relationship," where everything else came afterward.

The star shared how he was present for all of his children and was also a part of their lives. Eddie explained how balance was needed between one's career and personal life, and discussed his grandchild, Evie, then five months old, and his youngest child.

The actor revealed that his youngest offspring was ten months old at the beginning of 2020. He shared how there was no higher blessing than becoming a parent and none sweeter than being able to see your grandchild.

Eddie said he was in a period when blessings were raining down. He was also looking forward to his granddaughter learning to talk and giving him a name and revealed that the little girl called him "papa" but couldn't talk properly then.