When David Foster and Katharine McPhee announced they were expecting their first child together in late 2020, it was met with mixed reactions – some were happy for the couple, but others were concerned. And while Foster said those reactions were warranted, he’s taking a different perspective on the situation.
Foster spoke with PEOPLE at the Music Center in Los Angeles over the weekend, where he was attending an event honoring Jerry Moss – the co-founder of A&M Records. He spoke about his approach to raising a 23-month-old son at 73 years old after already raising six daughters in his younger years.
“At this point in my life, it’s different again. Not better or worse, just different. I still work, I’m still gone a lot, but maybe the time is a little more precious to me because I got more runway behind me than I have ahead of me now,” said Foster, adding he loves all of his daughters ‘immeasurably’, but this is different.
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Foster explained how much more patient he is with his son – who was born Rennie David Foster on February 22, 2021, and will turn 2 years old in a month. It’s the type of patience he didn’t exactly have when raising his daughters – there are six of them who range between the ages of 36 and 52.
“I think that I can offer one thing to Rennie even though I won’t be around when he’s 50 or 40 even, or 30 maybe. I think I can offer him wisdom from my 72 years on the planet. And maybe that’s not a bad trade-off. I hope so,” said Foster, who remains excited about all the wonderful memories that are to come.
David Foster met Katharine McPhee in 2006 when he appeared as her guest mentor on Season 5 of American Idol. The two maintained a close friendship over the next 10 years, with Foster even playing the piano at her first wedding to Nick Cokas – a fellow actor. Their divorce was finalized in February 2016.
Foster and McPhee made their relationship public in 2018 after making their red carpet debut at the Met Gala – rumors had been swirling for nearly two years, following McPhee’s split with boyfriend Elyes Gabel in 2016. Meanwhile, Foster had recently divorced his fourth wife, Yolanda Hadid, in October 2017.
David Foster Talks About His Son’s Musical Abilities
In an exclusive interview with E! News, David Foster opened up about his son’s musical abilities – which he and his wife have documented on social media on several occasions. The early consensus is that he seems to prefer drumming, but Foster added that he’s ‘trying to hold back a little,’ and limit his excitement.
“Well, you know I’m trying to hold back a little, I don’t want to get too excited there. But you would think between Kat and I, we probably would have a child that would be musical,” he said, adding his main hope is that Rennie at least finds ‘joy in music’ as it’s ‘too early to tell’ if he’ll follow in his parent’s footsteps.
Foster went on to explain that he can put a drummer on the TV and his son will watch it for ‘12 minutes straight’ – and even that’s not enough because Rennie will ask to watch it again after it’s finished. While he’s definitely gravitating towards drummers, Foster also says his son is really into CoComelon.
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David Foster, 73, and Katharine McPhee, 38, are going to be proud parents no matter what their child decides to pursue. For now, they’re trying to enjoy every last minute they have with their child, especially Foster – who will be turning 74 later this year. He’s starting to realize just how precious time is.
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