Big Sean, the renowned rapper, recently shared his personal experience with miscarriage on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast. The candid conversation, which took place during a discussion about Sean’s debut book, Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace, offered a poignant reflection on loss and healing.
Big Sean, whose real name is Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, spoke about the miscarriage he experienced with his partner, singer Jhené Aiko. He emphasized the unique nature of each individual’s experience with loss, acknowledging that a woman’s perspective on miscarriage is undeniably the most traumatic. However, from his perspective as a man, he offered words of comfort and validation to those who have experienced similar loss.
“First of all, you’re worthy,” Big Sean stated emphatically. “I don’t want you to think you’re not worthy.” He went on to highlight the complexities of life, emphasizing the importance of finding beauty even in the face of profound sadness and the things we don’t understand. He stressed that experiencing a miscarriage should not lead to feelings of inadequacy or brokenness.
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Host Jay Shetty echoed this sentiment, encouraging listeners to embrace the unpredictable nature of life and accept that things may unfold differently than planned. He advised against rigidly controlling life’s trajectory and instead advocated for openness to alternative paths to fulfillment.
Building upon Shetty’s message, Big Sean offered a message of hope for the future, suggesting that those who experience miscarriage may find themselves blessed with children later in life, perhaps through unexpected avenues. “Sometimes we get so set on a goal, we don’t keep the rest of our doors open, of how the universe could bless us in that way,” he reflected.
He urged individuals facing such a devastating loss to allow themselves to grieve and express their emotions fully, but cautioned against letting grief consume them entirely. “Go through it, express yourself, deal with that grief, but don’t let it consume you,” he advised. He concluded with a powerful message of resilience: “Sometimes you got to go through it just to get to it.”
Big Sean and Jhené Aiko’s relationship began around the release of their collaborative album, Twenty88, in 2016. The couple welcomed their son, Noah Hasani, in November 2022. Aiko also has a teenage daughter, Namiko Love, from a previous relationship.
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The rapper first publicly acknowledged the miscarriage in his 2020 song “Deep Reverence,” which included the poignant lyric, “we lost the baby.” His newly released book, Go Higher, delves into the spiritual practices he employs to navigate his mental health struggles with anxiety and depression, offering readers insights into the five practices that have shaped his journey to becoming a father, musician, and man. The book, which features a foreword by Jay Shetty, explores the transformative power of acceptance, strategizing, trying, trusting, and manifesting.
