“Surprise!” Halsey wrote on Jan. 27 in the understatement of the year (so far.) The 26-year-old singer revealed that she was pregnant by sharing a glamorous maternity shoot done by photographer Sam Dameshek. Halsey didn’t explicitly name the father of the unborn child, but on the bump in the first photo, she tagged @zoneaydin, aka Alev Aydin. Alev also shared the post to his Instagram story, adding a pair of heart emojis. Halsey didn’t immediately name Alev as the father, but a comment she wrote later (“@zoneaydin I love you!!!!! And I love this mini human already.”) practically confirmed that he’s her baby daddy. Here’s what you need to know about the man Halsey tagged in her pregnancy announcement.
1. Who Is Alev Aydin?
With one look at Alev’s Instagram page and his IMDB profile, it’s clear that he’s a man of many talents. He’s a director, helming the camera for a pair of shorts – “Felly” and “HipMen: Los Angeles” – and has acted in front of the camera in a couple of episodes of General Hospital and movies like Lonely Boy and Cruel Hearts. He produced the 2017 TV series Small Shots. He also wrote the series, as well as the 2013 web-series, Turbo and Joey. The series follows Jeremy Luke and Joey Russo, two Staten Island natives, as they try to be seen for the new Joe Pesci movie. It was, according to LA Weekly, a “beautifully shot show focuses on the scheming Turbo (Luke) and raging teddy bear Joey’s (Russo) volatile yet fiercely loyal friendship.”
2. How Long Has He Known Halsey?
Halsey’s pregnancy announcement came as a total shock – which is why she called it a “surprise.” However, this wasn’t the first time that Halsey was linked to Alev. The two were spotted together in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2020, picking up art supplies at Blick. The “Bad At Love” singer was seen in a pair of denim overalls and a tie-dyed sweatshirt. Alev wore the best of ‘90s grunge-inspired fashion, pairing a cardigan-esque sweater with a white t-shirt and what looked like checkered Vans. Halsey was reportedly working on her Halloween art project with these supplies. Months later, she would have a different kind of “creation.”
Alev has seemingly known Halsey for a few years. “Back when I did a very cool thing I’ll prob never get to do again,” he captioned a March 2019 Instagram post. In the pic, he and Halsey are seen sitting courtside at the Staples Center, watching presumably the Los Angeles Lakers play (they are Alev’s favorite team, judging by the photo of him as a child rocking a Lakers jersey.) “Massive thanks, @iamhalsey for the courtside experience. Only ones not on our phones, actually watching the game.”
3. Is Alev The Father?
Shortly after Halsey shared the news — and shortly after this post was first published — Alev commented on Halsey’s post. “Heart so full, I love you, sweetness.” Halsey responded in a way that seemingly confirmed Alev was the father. “@zoneaydin I love you!!!!!” she wrote. “And I love this mini human already.”
His account is full of mostly stills from movies like It Follows, Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders, Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief, and more. The man is an obvious cinephile. He’s shared a Top Ten list of his favorite movies over the last few years (he thought The Irishman was the best movie of 2019, FYI.) Alev also uses his account to share his love for classic hip-hop. “Brooklyn’s finest,” he captioned a throwback photo of The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Z that he posted at the end of December 2020.
4. Does He Have Any Family?
Alev’s Instagram is populated with mostly stills of movies and scenes from his international travels (he said New York “will always be home” in a Sept. 2020 post.) He has kept most of his private life to himself. A March 2020 IG post hints that he may have lost his grandmother last February and that he may have sadly lost his mother in 2014.
Alev has opened up the family photo album and shared some photos of him with his mother. He’s also shared some adorable throwback pictures of him with his brother, Coskun Aydin.
5. What Are His Politics?
As of Jan. 27, 2021, the link in Alev’s Instagram bio leads to a Google Doc about “Wealth Redistribution to Groups that Center Black People.” In June 2020, during the summer of Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s killing, Alev shared an email he received from The Bail Project. “The law enforcement response to these peaceful protests has been horrifying. And the way these police departments are insulated by our politicians and our judges is a sick joke. In NY alone, mere hours ago, a judge ruled that protestors arrested for curfew can be detained for over 24 hours, no processing, no appearance before a judge, all writs are denied in BK, BX, and Manhattan.”
“Black communities have paid a heavy biological tax bc of prevailing racist social structures and attitudes in the medical community that devalues them based on accepted (racist) assumptions that black people are more intrinsically genetically vulnerable than other racial groups,” he wrote four days later. “Centuries of systemic inequality and oppression are still explained away by falsely citing genetic ancestry. The link in my bio directs to a list that @blklivesmatter put together to help redistribute wealth to orgs that center black people.”
