Jake Owen and Girlfriend Erica Hartlein’s Baby Girl Is Here!
Country star Jake Owen is a new father for the second time! The singer and his girlfriend, Erica Hartlein, welcomed a baby daughter, Paris Hartley Owen, on Monday (April 29).
"It's a Willie great day!!" Owen joked on Twitter on Monday night when announcing his baby girl's arrival. Paris shares her birthday with country great Willie Nelson, who was born on April 29, 1933.
The new addition to the family is the couple's first child together. Additionally, Owen is the proud papa of one daughter, Pearl, with his ex-wife, Lacey Buchanan. Owen tells Country Countdown USA that his daughter's name came from the search for another "P" name.
"I came across Paris one day, so I ran it by Erica, and she liked it," he explains. "It’s ironic because one of my favorite foods is Vietnamese pho, and her initials will be P.H.O."
Owen and Hartlein announced the pregnancy on Thanksgiving of 2018 during an ABC news special, I'm Coming Home, in which the couple visited Owen's parents in Vero Beach, Fla. and shared the good news with family during the televised event.
Later in November of that year, Owen revealed that he and Hartlein had just gotten found out the baby's gender. "We just found out it's a girl. I kinda threw that out there. People had been wondering," the singer stated at the time. "We found out it's a girl. I'm good at making girls."
He also added that he planned to abstain from alcohol in solidarity with Hartlein for the duration of her pregnancy. "[Not drinking] sounded like a good idea at the time. I was like, 'This is going to be great! Both of us will go without drinking for nine months. I will be completely clear-headed for when this baby gets here,'" he explained.
Owen and Hartlein, an interior designer, have been dating at least since 2017, but have kept their relationship largely private. In terms of music, Owen released "Down to the Honkytonk," his first single since signing to Big Loud Records, in September of 2018, and recently released his first album with the label, Greetings From ... Jake. He also serves as a judge on Real Country.
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