Candiace Dillard Bassett is a new mom! The former Real Housewives of Potomac star and R&B artist, 37, welcomed her first child with husband Chris Bassett, 46, a baby boy named Jett Maxwell Lee Bassett, on October 3.
In an interview with People magazine, Candiace describes Jett as “the cutest little thing.”
She shared, “Chris and I couldn’t be happier. It’s so cliché to say, but he’s brought such joy to our lives in ways I never would have been able to describe before. It’s pure love!”
Candiace, who envisioned the day she’d meet Jett throughout her pregnancy, added, “I just look at him and envision all the adventures we’re going to have. Throughout my pregnancy, when I would talk to him in my stomach, I would say, ‘I can’t wait to see who you’re going to be.’ And that’s been the joy in my heart that’s continued after his birth. It’s exciting to think about. I’m so ready for a lifetime of being on the sidelines, cheering him on.”
When it came to naming their son, Candiace put extra thought into finding something meaningful. Jett, which means “excellence and abundance” in Hebrew, was a perfect fit.
As a nod to her father, she also chose “Lee” as one of his two middle names. “Naming him took longer than I thought,” she admitted, recalling how Chris humorously dismissed some of her ideas as “nepo baby names” but ultimately Chris agreed on Jett, saying, “’Jett’s a cool name, he’s going to be a cool kid. They can call him J.B.’ ”
Though this is Candiace’s first child, she’s been a loving “bonus mom” to Chris’s three kids from previous relationships — Owen, 22, Mateo, 14, and Naya, 10. Candiace’s journey to motherhood was well-documented on RHOP, including her experience with IVF. After a lengthy fertility journey, she announced her pregnancy soon after stepping away from the Bravo show in April 2024.