‘American Idol’ Winner Phillip Phillips and Wife Welcome Their First Child Together

Congratulations are in order for American Idol champion Phillip Phillips and his wife Hannah Blackwell, who welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Patch, on Sunday. Phillips, 29, announced the news via Instagram on Thursday with a photo of the newborn.

“Sunday morning our little boy made a fast entrance into the world. I cried more than he did,” the American Idol Season 11 winner captioned the sweet photo. “Hannah was an absolute rockstar in delivery and she has been such an amazing mom these last four days. I’m forever in love with this little kid. He’s changed me so much already.”

He continued, “We can’t take our eyes off of him. He’s perfect. Our prayers were answered and this new journey has begun. Welcome, Patch Shepherd Phillips.”

Blackwell also shared the same photo and her own lengthy caption, writing that “Sunday morning, Patch Shepherd Phillips made me a mama. He came ahead of schedule and on his own terms with speed. No amount of reading or listening can prepare one for this kind of love.”

She went on, writing that “Phillip has continued to be the most supportive and loving man I know. I knew from the day I met PP that he would be the best daddy. I don’t know how I am going to handle this whole falling in love over and over again daily. Thanks for all the prayers and love.”

Phillips announced in July that he and Blackwell, 27, were expecting a new member of their family. “Phillip and Hannah sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage this fall!” he wrote on Instagram at the time. In the photo, the two smiled at the camera from the floor next to a “Gentleman” onesie and an ultrasound photo.

The couple originally met as teenagers while volunteering together. They tied the knot in 2015 in Albany, Georgia, ten months after Phillips proposed. “My best Christmas surprise is happening,” he wrote on social media following the proposal. “We’re engaged y’all!”

Phillips gushed to Ryan Seacrest about Blackwell, his then-girlfriend, after he won American Idol in 2012. “She is really excited for me and she’s helped me out a lot through this,” he said at the time. “Love her, love her to death.”

On their three-year wedding anniversary last October, Phillips honored Blackwell and said, “I sure do love having you as my best friend, my inspiration and my lover. Thank you for saying, ‘I do,’ because if you didn’t that would have been pretty awkward. I love you.”

Photo credit: Frazer Harrison / Staff / Getty