Halsey and her screenwriter beau are set to pen a new chapter.
The American singer, born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, has announced she is pregnant with her first child with partner, Alev Aydin.
"Surprise," the Without Me star captioned a series of photographs on her Instagram account on Wednesday, as she bared her growing bump.
Halsey, 26, did not confirm her due date or give any other details about her pregnancy, bar tagging Aydin in the images.
"Heart so full, I love you, sweetness," replied the screenwriter in the comments, to which the singer added: "I love you! And I love this mini human already!"
The couple had mostly kept their romance private, with Halsey's pregnancy announcement also serving as the first confirmation of her relationship.
Who is Alev Aydin?
It is not known exactly where the screenwriter, 37, was born, but he has previously shared details about his Turkish roots on social media.
He has posted many images taken in Istanbul over the years, referring to the country as "the motherland" and "the homeland".
Halsey has even posted messages to Aydin in Turkish.
"Grateful for you this year and every year, sweets. Seni cok seviyorum," she captioned a photo of the pair shared on New Year's Eve. The Turkish phrase translates to "I love you so much".
Aydin has a number of credits to his name on industry database IMDb, most notably as the creator and executive producer of Small Shots, a 2017 mini-series about two actors trying to break into Hollywood, which is available on Netflix US.
He is also credited as the writer, director and producer of HipMen: Los Angeles, a 2017 short film about "a team of stylish hitmen who are hired to kill a big-shot music producer".
His most recent listed work is as an actor in 2018 thriller Cruel Hearts.
He also made several appearances on popular soap opera General Hospital between 2008 and 2010.
How long have Aydin and Halsey been together?
Though the pair have kept their relationship under wraps, a source told People they "have been dating for several months".
"Halsey has been low-key about their relationship. They were spending a lot of time at her house in the fall though, and it was obvious that she was happy," the source told the publication.
They were, however, first pictured together in 2019, attending a Lakers basketball game.
Aydin shared a photo of the pair sat courtside in a throwback post in March 2019; the game took place that January.
"Back when I did a very cool thing I’ll prob never get to do again – massive thanks @iamhalsey for the courtside experience. Only ones not on our phones, actually watching the game," he captioned the image.
The pair also hinted at their relationship in June 2020, after celebrity tattooist Amanda Owley shared a picture of them getting a matching design in Los Angeles.
Aydin got the word "seeds" inked on the top of his foot, while Halsey had the same word etched near her heel.
Halsey had previously been linked to actor Evan Peters and rapper G-Eazy.
She revealed she had suffered a miscarriage in 2018, telling The Guardian in 2020: "It was the most inadequate I've ever felt. Here I am achieving this out-of-control life, and I can't do the one thing I'm biologically put on this Earth to do."
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
ASSASSIN'S%20CREED%20MIRAGE
%3Cp%3E%0DDeveloper%3A%20Ubisoft%20Bordeaux%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Ubisoft%0D%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20Series%20S%26amp%3BX%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
