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Originally appeared on E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n Mario<\/strong>\u2019s heart is crying out in joy.<\/p>\n After all, the R&B singer is stepping into a new chapter: fatherhood<\/a>. On his 38th birthday, he announced that he\u2019s expecting his first baby with girlfriend Esmeralda Rios<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a whole universe in there!\u201d Mario captioned the Aug. 27 photo on his Instagram Stories, which sees him placing his hand on Esmeralda\u2019s baby bump. \u201cI can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n Shortly after, the \u201cLet Me Love You\u201d star also gushed over this new milestone in his birthday post<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cBDAY VIBES #virgoseason,\u201d he wrote on the photo dump, adding a video of him rubbing his girlfriend\u2019s growing stomach. \u201cThank you God! WE LOCKED IN.\u201d<\/p>\n More from E! Online<\/strong><\/p>\n Though Mario has been private about his love life, he\u2019s offered a brief glimpse into his romance with Esmeralda on social media. Indeed, he posted a video of their date night last June, which included them kissing at an all-white party in California<\/a>. And while they prefer to keep their love out of the spotlight, Mario noted it was important for them to attend the event together.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t just go everywhere, but it was one of them ones,\u201d he explained during his appearance on The Morning Hustle<\/span> last November. \u201cI had to take her. I wasn\u2019t going to pop up over there, I\u2019m bringing my girl. When you\u2019re in a relationship, I feel like if you respect your partner, you gotta move in a way that shows respect because everything\u2019s connected and exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n He also praised Esmeralda, noting she looked \u201cf–king beautiful\u201d during their night out.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s fire,\u201d the Masked Singer<\/a> alum continued. \u201cI think celebrating love is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n Though he didn\u2019t tease if they were interested in starting a family at the time, Mario has been candid about taking his time in expanding his legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t take having kids lightly,\u201d he noted in his August 2023 interview<\/a> with V-103 Atlanta. \u201cEverybody I know [has] kids. Some of my friends [that are] younger have kids, some of my friends [that are] older have kids, and it comes with a lot of pros and cons. I also grew up without a father. So, I want to do it right when I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App<\/p>\n<\/div>\n