After finalizing her divorce from rapper Jeezy in 2024, television personality Jeannie Mai is opening up about life as a single mother and what parenting her three-year-old daughter, Monaco, looks like today.

In a recent appearance on the Sherri show, the 46-year-old reflected on the unexpected realities of single motherhood, admitting, “It’s never what you picture.”

“Shoutout to all the moms out there, especially the single moms, because it’s never what you picture,” Mai said in her interview. “You don’t ideally think to have a child and have that whole responsibility to yourself. But I realized that the gift in being a single mom is that you learn how to trust yourself.” Mai added, telling the host that mothers “know instinctively what to do” and don’t have to “check with anybody else.”

She continued, “You know exactly what your daughter needs in love; you know exactly how your children need to be seen and heard. And so I’m reparenting myself through Monaco and I’m learning that I always had it—I always had what I needed.”

Recently, Mai threw her daughter a Paw Patrol-themed belated third birthday bash that was delayed as a result of the LA Wildfires earlier this year. Everyone showed up to celebrate Monaco, in addition to her favorite character, Rubble.

“The beginning of January was not at all what I had imagined,” Mai shared in an Instagram post. “The devastating fires in LA completely shaped our start to 2025, and while Monaco and I spent those first days packing our essentials and preparing for evacuation, our hearts turned toward helping others.”

She continued, “Monaco’s third birthday quietly came and went, and though our focus was on supporting others, I couldn’t let this major milestone pass by without celebrating my little girl. So, this weekend—yup, three weeks later—we finally paused to give my lil Monaco the birthday celebration she truly deserved.”

Photo: Jeannie Mai Instagram