Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker are sending love to their youngest daughter, Blaze Tucker.
A day after Kandi announced her marital split from Todd, The Real Housewives of Atlanta parents returned to Instagram to celebrate Blaze’s 6th birthday. Kandi began by posting a quick but very adorable video of the little girl standing in their Georgia home as she revealed her “first gifts of the day.”
RHOA daughter Blaze Tucker rings in her birthday with Kandi Burruss
“Yeah, it’s my birthday today!” Blaze shouted.
“Yeah! What’d you get?” Kandi asked from behind the camera.
The 6-year-old proceeded to show off two boxed Labubus — one large and the other small — as well as some clothes for the dolls.
“And I love this ginormous one because it’s so ginormous,” Blaze added, causing Kandi to laugh. “But I don’t know where to put it, mom.”
“Well, we’ll find a place to put it,” Kandi replied. “I love you. Happy birthday.”
RELATED: Riley Burruss Reveals Updates on Her Life a Big Sister to Ace & Blaze: “Love Them” (EXCLUSIVE)
Todd Tucker pens birthday tribute to Blaze Tucker: “Where did the time go?”
Todd also marked the special day with a sweet Instagram post featuring photos of Blaze’s morning car rides, Start2Finish race, a family vacation, and more.
“Happy Birthday to my Baby Blaze!” Todd captioned the November 22 carousel. “She my Beautiful little princess! She warms my heart every time I see her. [Blaze Tucker] where did the time go 6 yrs old! Daddy. Loves you with all his heart!!!”
Kandi Burruss reflects on her fertility journey and Blaze Tucker’s birth
Blaze was born via surrogacy about five years after Kandi and Todd got married. The couple is also parents to a 9-year-old son, Ace Tucker, as well as two adult daughters from previous relationships. Kandi is a mom to Next Gen NYC’s Riley Burruss, and Todd is the dad of Kaela Tucker.
Kandi spoke candidly about Blaze’s arrival in a 2020 episode of Parents magazine’s We Are Family podcast, admitting she felt a bit of “guilt” about using a surrogate. The Atlanta mom said it was a “tough decision,” but chose to take the surrogacy route for health and safety reasons. Kandi explained she had previously undergone surgery to remove uterine fibroids and was left with heavy scar tissue. She said the complications would make any subsequent pregnancy “high risk.”
Kandi insisted her surrogate, Shadina, was great, but she couldn’t help but feel bad watching another woman carry her child. She recalled a particularly upsetting comment from one of her relatives, who questioned whether Kandi would be able to bond with a child born through surrogacy.
“It really hurt my feelings because you already know it’s a hard decision to make, to go through a surrogate,” she said. “But then you’re making me feel bad because you’re saying that I’m not even going to have a bond with my baby… being a woman who has birthed my previous children, [that] automatically was a concern of mine. Like, will me and Blaze have the same connection? So I didn’t need somebody else chiming in saying that.”
Kandi Burruss on her immediate bond with daughter Blaze Tucker
Kandi’s bonding concerns immediately dissipated once Blaze was born.
“When Blaze got here, I didn’t feel any less of a connection than I have with my previous children,” she continued. “I still feel super bonded when I come in the room. Blaze lights up — her smile is so huge when I walk in there — so it’s still this same love, the same connection.”
Blaze rang in her 6th birthday just hours after Kandi announced she was pursuing a divorce from Todd. The Grammy winner didn’t share any details on what prompted the decision, but said she was now focusing on her kids, work, and “protecting [her] peace.” Read her full statement here.