When we say, Draya Michele, we don’t only remember her acting or her famous swimwear or even her relationships, we also think about her kids, Kniko Howard and Jru Scandrick.
Kniko Howard is the eldest son of designer and actress, Draya Michele (Andraya Michele Howard), and her first partner. There were a lot of rumors on who his father was several years back, but thanks to the heartfelt revelation in 2016, now, we know who his biological dad is.
Well, we’ll reveal all of the details in the coming sections below. So without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Kniko Howard is the Eldest Son of Draya Michele!
As already mentioned, Kniko Howard is the firstborn of the American entrepreneur, designer, and actress, Draya Michele, and her teenage love, Kniko Howard Sr. Since Michele gave birth to him at 17, he must now be 18 years old.
Source: Zimbio
Kniko has a younger brother, Jru Scandrick, who was born from his mother’s relationship with former NFL player, Orlando Scandrick. His mom was with Orlando for around 7 years but their relationship was always an on and off kind of thing.
Source: Draya Michele’s Instagram
Source: Draya Michele’s Twitter
At the moment, Kniko, Jru, and their mother, Draya live in their new home in LA, which she bought a few months after moving out of her former partner’s (Orlando’s) house.
Controversy on Kniko Howard’s Father!
Several years back, there were rumors of Kniko Howard being the son of the former NBA player, Gilbert Arenas. The rumors started after his mother was found in a complicated relationship with Gilbert and his partner, Laura Govan.
When the rumors of Kniko being Gilbert’s son rose in the media limelight, Arenas was quick to shut down the rumors. He revealed that he only met Michele back in 2008 through one of his Washington Wizards teammate, DeShawn Stevenson.
Source: Gilbert Arenas’s Instagram
Celebrity Gossip websites claimed that he silenced this news by paying $20,000. But, he challenged the news media like TMZ and Baller Alert to prove their claims and if they prove their story, he would pay a whopping $1 million to each of their charities as a donation. They couldn’t prove anything!
This, however, didn’t stop the rumors. In 2016, during the premiere of TV One‘s new series, The Next 15, former Basketball Wives cast, Jennifer Williams divulged that she saw a leaked email that said Gilbert was Kniko’s dad and that he had slept with his partner’s sister, Gloria Govan.
Source: The Shade Room’s Instagram
Draya was silent all this time but, when Williams implied to Gilbert as her baby daddy, she couldn’t bear it and revealed the truth to the world in a now-deleted Instagram post. She wrote,
Here is Darya… At 17 years old I got pregnant by a man who became incarcerated for 10 when I was 7 months pregnant. With help from my mom, I was able to survive.
Draya Michele revealing about how she got pregnant at 17.
Michele further stated that she couldn’t have got pregnant by Gilbert in 2002 and if she had, she would never have wasted her time working “in the club” for seven years.
Now, judging by how under-developed and young I was, besides living in a very small city in PA….. There’s no way in 2002 I got pregnant by some athlete. If I had, there’s not a chance in f***king hell I would have wasted 7 years of my life working “in the club” because clearly child support would be on fleek. I have never received A DIME of child support in my life and that’s ok.
Draya Michele clearing out the fact about how Gilbert can’t be her baby daddy.
Continuing her caption, she revealed that her son is named after her father, who currently lives in Pennsylvania and works as a barber.
I have also NEVER attempted to say anyone other than who my son is named after (yes he’s a junior) was the father. My son’s father lives in pa and makes an honest living being a barber. This shit is completely embarrassing to me and my family. And I intend on putting this to final rest. I’m pissed that I had to take time from remodeling my office in my brand new 4000 square foot warehouse to even address this. But I’ve been quiet too long. I’ve also let people tell “my story” on tv too many times. I’ll speak my truths….. You speak your own and keep whatever momentum going by doing that. God bless. Leave the kids out of it for heaven’s sake. #seemybabyseat #boxdye #walmart”
Draya Michele revealing about Kniko Howard’s father.
Well, this daring post in 2016 revealed that Kniko Howard is, in fact, a junior to his father, Kniko Howard.
Draya Michele Refused Signing Son’s Homework!
Now, to talk about another controversy, Kniko Howard’s mother Draya Michele was backlashed for not being a good mother. In late 2017, Draya refused to sign her son’s homework and he got fewer points because of that.
Source: Twitter
Fans reacted quickly to the tweet and called her a bad parent. But, this isn’t the first time, she failed in parenting. In late 2010, the police found her abandoning her seven-year-old son to work in Philadelphia. His mother was arrested in charge of endangering the welfare of a child. Draya arranged a $25 thousand bail and remained free.
According to the police, they found Kniko in an apartment on December 16, 2010, at about 2 AM after he called 911 saying he was home alone. At first, he was handed to his grandmother, Valeria Diaz, who used to babysit him while his mother was at work. During the investigation, Howard was sent to the Children and Youth Services.
According to details, Michele was sentenced to two years of probation along with 40 hours of community service. She was also ordered to attend family counseling.
All’s well that ends well! Now, Kniko is living a content life with his mother and younger sibling.
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