Jennifer Hudson is being candid about a family discovery she made when she was younger and her efforts to get in touch with her many siblings.
The singer recently appeared on the podcast Your mother’s kitchen: conversations from the heart of the homewhere she spoke to host Michele Norris about growing up without knowing her father and learning a surprising secret about him.
Norris asked how, when she was a teenager, she and several of her siblings went to look for their father, Samuel Simpson, and discovered they had many more half-siblings than they ever imagined.
“Yes, (there are) many of us. Apparently he had 27 children,” Hudson shared.
She said she wasn’t able to contact all of them, but “that’s what we were always told” growing up.
Hudson was one of three children Simpson shared with Darnell Donerson — alongside her older sister, Julia, and brother, Jason.
“My dream was to have all of us at this big Thanksgiving or Christmas table, and we would all sit down and eat together,” Hudson reflected. “That was my goal when I was 16.”
Ultimately, Hudson explained that over the years, she’s “met a few of us… And I’m the youngest of them all.” According to Hudson, she knew about six or seven half-siblings.
Meanwhile, Hudson has a son — 14-year-old David Daniel Otunga Jr. — with whom she shares with her ex, David Otunga. The pair gave up in 2017, nine years after getting engaged. They had been together for 10 years.
In January, Hudson confirmed long-standing romance rumors about her relationship with Common. During an episode of The Jennifer Hudson Showthe GRAMMY-winning rapper sat down with Hudson — after bringing her flowers — and opened up about his new love.
“This relationship is a happy place for me,” he said, receiving a round of applause from the audience. “For me, it’s one of those things where I’ve found that seeing her happy actually makes me really happy. I’m so grateful. I thank God every day and I’m just letting God guide this relationship.”
Common and Hudson were first linked in 2022. In November, the talk show host and rapper were seen holding hands while making a special appearance at Joe’s Pub for a one-night-only performance honoring renowned jazz vocalist Mikel Mwalimu-Banks.
In the same month, Hudson was asked about her relationship status in CBS Mornings. Although she didn’t name names, she assured Gayle King that she was taken.
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