Who Is Alev Aydin, the Father of Halsey's First Child?

There's no doubt we're in the midst of a celebrity baby boom, helped along by the many months most of us have spent cooped up in our houses waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems like every few days (if not sooner), a new A-lister takes to Instagram to reveal that they're pregnant, or, in some extra surprising cases, introduce a newborn they never even revealed was on the way. After almost a year of quarantine, these announcements have become all but routine, and I, for one, thought I could no longer be surprised by any celeb's impending motherhood—that is, until Halsey joined the club.

The singer's announcement, dropped unceremoniously on Instagram and Twitter on a random Wednesday morning, brought back the shock and awe that have been missing from these reveals. Not only had Halsey successfully kept her growing bump away from prying eyes and online speculation, but she also hasn't been in a very public relationship in quite some time. Her pregnancy announcement, then, also served as an announcement of her burgeoning relationship with Alev Aydin, who she tagged in the post. So, who is this mystery man? Here's everything we know about Aydin, who's been a constant fixture in Hollywood for over a decade.

He's a quadruple threat.

Aydin's IMDb page boasts a long list of credits as an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. While his acting roles date back to several appearances on General Hospital between 2008 and 2010, most of his work takes place behind the camera: Along with starring in the 2013 drama film Lonely Boy, he also served as its writer and executive producer. More recently, he was credited as the creator, writer, and executive producer of Small Shots, a 2017 comedy series about two friends trying to make it big in Hollywood, and the writer, director, and producer of HipMen: Los Angeles, a short film about a team of assassins.

Aydin's creative eye is put further on display on his Instagram, which seems to act primarily as a mood board for the artist. His feed is a fascinating blend of vintage photos, childhood snapshots, movie stills, and travel pics, with the occasional selfie thrown in to balance it all out.

He's known Halsey for years.

Aydin and the artist formerly known as Ashley Frangipane have been friends for quite some time, as evidenced by a post he shared in March 2019 commemorating the time they sat courtside at a Lakers game together. That game took place in January of that year, so if they were on an "attend high-profile events together" basis by that time, it's safe to assume the pair had been friends since at least the end of 2018, if not longer.

"Back when I did a very cool thing I'll prob never get to do again — massive thanks @iamhalsey for the courtside experience," Aydin captioned his throwback post.

They've been dating for several months.

Though it's not clear when, exactly, Aydin and Halsey's relationship turned from friends to something more, the first sign of the latter arrived last June, when the pair performed that classic celebrity romance rite of passage: getting matching tattoos. Photos of the experience show that they both got the word "seeds" inked on their feet—perhaps hinting at their budding romance? Or their plans to grow a family together?

A few months later, just before Halloween, Halsey and Aydin were spotted stocking up on art supplies at a Blick Art Materials outpost in L.A., The Daily Mail reported in October. And on New Year's Eve, Halsey gave her new boyfriend a sweet shout-out on Instagram, writing "grateful for you this year and every year, sweets," on top of a collage of photos of them together. She added the phrase "I love you so much" in Turkish, seemingly an homage to Aydin's Turkish roots.