Ashley Cain has defended his choice to name his newborn son after his late daughter, Azaylia.
The TV personality, 33, revealed last year he was a expecting a son with an old friend after he and his ex partner Safiyya Vorajee, 36, tragically lost their little girl.
He shared the first picture of his newborn son, named Aliyas, in an Instagram post on Thursday and revealed he’d paid tribute to his late daughter by using her middle name, Diamond, which later explained was a ‘family tradition.’
Ashley was met with a slew of comments from his followers who branded his son’s name, Aliyas Diamond Cain, as disrespectful towards his ex partner.
One person wrote: ‘Your baby is beautiful but you are beyond disrespectful.’
Ashley Cain, 33, has defended his choice to name his newborn son after his late daughter, Azaylia (pictured with Azaylia in 2021)
The TV personality revealed last year he was a expecting a son with an old friend and announced the birth this week
Another added: ‘Another blow to Safiyya with a name so similar to Azaylia! So disrespectful.’
Hitting back at the comments, Ashley explained: ‘What the letter ‘A’ holds is a family tradition, being the first letter of my father’s and all of my uncles first names.
‘The name ‘Diamond’ is from my grandma and their mother. It’s our family name along with Cain, it’s our Vincentian roots, all the way from our small island and from our great people.’
His daughter Azalyia was diagnosed with with acute myeloid leukemia at eight-weeks-old and had tumours on her lungs, stomach and kidneys.
She was given several rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant at Birmingham Children’s Hospital but sadly died on April 24, 2021 when she was just eight-months-old, following a courageous battle.
Announcing the birth of his son this week, Ashley shared an adorable picture to Instagram and penned: ‘Aliyas Diamond Cain – 16.01.24, 4:32am, 9lbs 3oz.
‘I will love you, appreciate you, guide you and protect you with all of my heart, for the rest of my life.’
‘You will have the most beautiful guardian angel heaven holds watching over you and protecting you too. Welcome to the world my son.’
Ashley revealed he’d paid tribute to his late daughter by using her middle name, Diamond, which later explained was a ‘family tradition’
Ashley was met with a slew of comments from his followers who branded his son’s name, Aliyas Diamond Cain, as disrespectful towards his ex partner
Ashley added: ‘May your body be strong, your mind be wise, your heart be loving and your spirit be pure and truly powerful.’
Ashley hasn’t disclosed the identity of his second child’s mother but confirmed that while they are not together they have been friends since they were 18 and dated on and off over the years.
Shortly before Ashley shared his baby announcement post, Safiyya took to Instagram to share a selfie captioned: ‘A brave face is sometimes all we have when getting by in this world.
‘If you’re wearing yours today keep going. You’re not alone because I’m wearing mine. Be kind to others you never know what they’re going through.’
She went on to share that she’d been flooded with messages from followers saying they were doing the same thing as she advised them to ‘be gentle’ and try to ‘love yourself a little more each day.’
Ashley previously confessed it ‘wasn’t easy’ breaking the news to his ex partner Safiyya Vorajee, saying: ‘It was painful for Safiyya but it was also painful for me as well to talk to her
Shortly before Ashley shared his baby announcement post, Safiyya took to Instagram to share a selfie captioned: ‘A brave face is sometimes all we have when getting by in this world’
She went on to share that she’d been flooded with messages from followers saying they were doing the same thing as she advised them to ‘be gentle’
Later in the day, Safiyya revealed she’d paid a visit to Azaylia’s grave to light a candle, and told her followers that after seeing a stunning sunset, she knew her little girl was watching over her
Later in the day, Safiyya revealed she’d paid a visit to Azaylia’s grave to light a candle, and told her followers that after seeing a stunning sunset, she knew her little girl was watching over her.
She said: ‘I’ve come down to Azaylia’s garden to say a little prayer and light a little candle for her, and check out the orange sunset. I always look for signs from my baby and she’s showed up for me again today.
‘Your angels are always there protecting you and guiding you and holding you tightly all the time.’
Last month, Safiyya said both she and Ashley struggled with their grief and he later moved out of their home in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
She told The Sun on Sunday: ‘He’d had a drink, it was quick and brutal. He said he couldn’t do it any more.’
Former footballer Ashley and Safiyya raised more than £1.5million to fund Azaylia’s specialist treatment before her death and later put any unspent money into The Azaylia Foundation which aims to support families and provide memorable experiences for children fighting cancer.
Safiyya said The Challenge star Ashley turned to drink and fundraising and she put his needs first but craved love and attention from him.
Ashley moved in with his aunt and Safiyya later did the same despite splitting, with the pair having separate rooms in the same house.
She said she had always got on well with his family and, having known him for so long, saw his loved ones as her own family.
Safiyya claims Ashley then suggested having another baby but she was unsure as she did not want her child to think they’d been born to fill the ‘void’ left by their let firstborn Azaylia.
In June this year, Safiyya moved out of Ashley’s aunt’s home and bought her own property, thinking some space between her and her ex would do them good.
READ MORE: Ashley Cain hits back at trolls in angry post after ex Safiyya Vorajee said he ‘brutally’ dumped her
They continued to work on the foundation they’d set up in Azaylia’s name, talking about it every day, and she waited in the hope he would ask her to get back together with him.
But Ashley told her he was having a baby with another woman, although he was not in a relationship with her.
She said: ‘He didn’t tell me who she was and, again, I would not ask.’
Breaking down in tears, she added: ‘That’s the heartbreaking thing about it. Even when he told me, I put him first so he didn’t feel guilty for telling me. Inside I was screaming and crying.’
Safiyya sought help from a therapist in a bid to process her feelings and decided to visit Azaylia’s garden to tell her about what was happening in her life.
However, after she arrived, she could not bring herself to say out loud that Ashley was having a child with someone else.
Speaking last year about becoming a father for the second time, Ashley confessed on Good Morning Britain: ‘It was different because I felt slightly guilty, I felt slightly hurt for Azaylia and I didn’t really expect this to be the case.’
Ashley continued: ‘But very quickly, like I do, I took the responsibility of being a father. I realise that every child is a blessing and I got myself in the right mind frame and had a long time to think about it.
‘[I’m going to] be the best person I can possibly be for my son that’s coming into this world and that’s what I intend to do.’
As host Ed Balls asked if this baby news made him feel ‘conflicted with loss and opportunity’, Ashley responded: ‘100 percent.
‘I think I was meant to be a daddy. I love children, I love my family’s children and it’s hard every time to see them because I always think that’s what Azaylia should be doing now… I think that’ll be the case with my son.’
His former partner Safiyya last month claimed Ashley dumped her in a ‘quick and brutal’ way following the death of their baby daughter Azaylia, before asking her for another child
Ashley said that Azalyia would have loved a a little brother and he is looking forward to becoming a father again.
But Ashley’s strength was tested again when the couple discovered at the 20-week scan that their baby has a potential heart defect.
He explained that the doctors couldn’t find the connection between one of the valves and the heart which naturally scared the star.
Although he is worried over his son’s health after his tough journey with Azaylia, he said he will go for a scan as soon as he is born to double check his health.
If you are struggling with the loss of a child please contact Sands on 0808 164 3332 or [email protected]
For help and support caring for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, please contact Together for Short Lives on 0808 8088 100 or visit www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk