James Arthur, who rose to fame after appearing on The X Factor back in 2012, has made headlines after sharing a very special and unexpected announcement on Instagram.
The 33-year-old took to Instagram to announce the birth of his daughter on Friday the 18th of November, prompting many to wonder who is James Arthur's girlfriend and does he have any other children?
Who is James Arthur's girlfriend?
James Arthur is dating dancer, Jessica Grist. The couple met on the set of The X Factor in 2012 when Arthur won the show with his rendition of 'Impossible' and Grist was a backup dancer.
Jessica keeps her life out of the spotlight, with all her social media accounts set to private. However, it is believed that Jessica is 31 years old and trained with The Royal Ballet in London for three years before studying dance and musical theatre at Performers College in Essex. She now works as a backup dancer and has appeared in music videos for Alicia Keys and Seven Nation Army singer Jack White. She has also worked on shows such as The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's Got Talent.
According to OK!, James and Jessica had an on and off again romance for nine years before calling it quits in 2021. However, in January 2022, the pair are believed to have reconciled. At the time, a source told The Sun, "They’ve had six months apart but have always stayed in touch and got on very well. People close to them are pleased they’re back on – there’s a definite chemistry and they’ve been together the best part of a decade. Hopefully this is a fresh start. There was always something really good there."
Does James Arthur have a child?
Yes, James Arthur announced the birth of his daughter on Friday the 18th of November via Instagram. His video post begins with the words, 'In the last few days someone made an unexpected arrival,’ before the clip cuts to the newborn's tiny hand wrapped around James’ finger.
The video was played over his own song Heartbeat, which features the lyrics, ‘You are my blood, you are my heartbeat.’ Below the video, Arthur wrote, "Dear Emily, welcome to the world."
Fans and friends were quick to comment and congratulate him, with Rylan Clark writing, "This is gonna make you. Love you xxx" and singer Pixie Lott commenting, "Wowww congrats James!!!"
What is the meaning behind James Arthur's daughter's name?
James Arthur's daughter is called Emily after the song that James dedicated to his unborn daughter last year. The song was originally written and released when he and his girlfriend, Jessica Grist, were expecting a baby and features the lyrics, "I needed life and life came, and gave me Emily. You make me a better man than I’ll ever be, ever be, ever be, because of you, Emily."
Speaking on The Andy Jaye's An Hour With podcast, the former X-Factor star said he had written the song in the early stages of his girlfriends first pregnancy, before the couple sadly lost the child.
In light of the tragedy, 'Emily' was styled as James writing to his future child, not his unborn daughter, as he did not feel ready to let the world know about the song's true meaning. James said that he "should have waited a bit longer" before penning any music dedicated to the child.
The former X Factor winner said, "Sadly it [the pregnancy] didn’t work out. It wasn’t far, it was a couple of months and she had an ectopic pregnancy. So she lost the child, and I didn’t really want to talk about it. But she actually said 'I think it’s really important that you do' – just because there’s so little information, and I would echo that actually."
Where does James Arthur live now?
The Saltburn-raised singer, James Arthur, lives in a mansion in the countryside. A large driveway, boasting both a Mercedes and black Range Rover, leads up to the Tudor-style house which features a pool, games room and home-recording studio.
Despite the luxuries, in the BBC Three authored documentary, James Arthur: Out Of Our Minds, the singer admitted that he's never really felt at home. He said, "I’ve moved seven or eight times which is indicative of how unsettled I feel. I am in a beautiful house with everything I need but I feel like I’m living in an Airbnb."
