Showing them how it is done! Shay Mitchell and Matte Babel have shared special looks at their family dynamic after welcoming daughters Atlas and Rome.
The couple started dating in 2017 and welcomed their first daughter, Atlas in October 2019, after two years together. At the time, the Pretty Little Liars alum opened up about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their connection while raising their child.
“One minute I’m like, ‘You stay on this side of the bedroom, I’ll be on this side, do not cross this line.’ You know?” Mitchell exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2021. “And then other days I’m like, ‘Oh, this is awesome. I feel very grateful that I have you here to watch this Netflix show.’ You know what I mean? So it comes in ebbs and flows for sure.”
The Canada native later admitted that she wasn’t in a rush to get married to her longtime boyfriend. “I don’t know if I’ve done anything in order,” Mitchell said on E! News’ Daily Pop in August 2021. “I didn’t get married before a child. I had a child, didn’t get married. I don’t really know if that’s in the cards of us. I think we both agree, maybe it’s just me.”
At the time, the Heiresses actress noted that there was “no pressure” to take the next step in their relationship. “I love it. I love the fact that we come home and every day I’m like, ‘I choose you and you choose me.’ It keeps us on our toes,” she added. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I can walk out. I don’t need to go through a lawyer, I can just walk out.’ And same with him. It keeps it sexy.”
Mitchell also joked about having a second baby before deciding on any future marriage plans. “I feel so unproductive from last [coronavirus] pandemic [lockdown]. I should have had a baby,” she teased. “I don’t know, I’d love to.”
In February 2022, the Dollface alum reflected on expanding her family following a major loss.
“Saying goodbye to a loved one while simultaneously experiencing the joy of welcoming another into this world is the great cycle of life,” she wrote via Instagram about her grandmother’s recent passing. “It is also my most challenging season to date. I can’t help but think this was the universe’s plan all along, knowing I would need other worldly joy to cushion the blow of losing one of the most important people in my life. Yet, this is proof that love, life and loss can profoundly exist all at the same time. Gram, I miss you every day. Little one, we are so excited to meet you. I breathe a sigh of peace knowing you two are already connected in such a cosmic way.”
Four months later, Mitchell confirmed that she gave birth to her second daughter, Rome. “Losing the most important person in my life in the same year I welcomed my second daughter has shifted everything for me, but one thing remains steady in my soul — I’m certain they spent time together and that brings me peace and joy,” she captioned an Instagram snap in June 2022, one day after announcing her daughter’s arrival. “We’re so happy you’re here Rome, named after my best friend, my soulmate, my ‘person,’ my Grandma Romaine. ❤️.”
Scroll on to see photos of Mitchell and Babel with their daughters: