LaKeith Stanfield Reveals He and Kasmere Trice Are Married — with a New Baby! (Exclusive)

The 'Atlanta' actor and musician says he's head over heels in love: 'We've manifested this beautiful family'

Surprise! LaKeith Stanfield and model Kasmere Trice Stanfield have tied the knot — and they're the proud parents of a new baby.

The Atlanta actor and musician, 31, and his wife, 29, reveal their marriage and baby news in the new issue of PEOPLE. “There’s life before being a parent, and then there’s life being a parent. It completely changes,” says LaKeith.

Indeed, his life looks a whole lot different these days, and he's ready to let the rest of the world in on it. Stanfield, who has two daughters under age 7 from past relationships, is building a happy new chapter with Kasmere, a first-time mom.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Related: Lakeith Stanfield Says He Turned to Therapy After 'Judas and the Black Messiah' : Scenes Felt 'Real'

The pair announced their engagement on Instagram last December. They’ve since married in private and decided they're ready to open up about their romance and baby news. “We decided early on we wanted to protect our baby as much as we can for as long as possible,” Kasmere says of their child, whose name and sex they’ve chosen to withhold.

Adds LaKeith: “Being in the public eye can be something that’s amazing, but it can also be something that is very hard on you. There needs to be things that exist that are sacred and not for consumption for everybody.” Their reason for speaking out now: “We want to be the ones to tell our story. We’re bringing our family forward so we may inspire others.”

Long private about his life off-screen, LaKeith built his career with intense, scene-stealing performances, including as the eccentric Darius in the FX series Atlanta and as a mysterious key figure in 2017’s horror hit Get Out. In 2021 his turn as an FBI informant in Judas and the Black Messiah earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He stars in the new film Haunted Mansion, but given the current strikes in Hollywood, he’s happy to redirect his focus to another passion: his music. His EP Brother will be released later this summer under his stage name Htiekal (LaKeith spelled backward). “It’s an opportunity for me to be expressive in a way that I’m not always able to,” he says of the audiovisual project, which combines synth and soul.

He and Kasmere met in Canada, where LaKeith was working. At first, “we were just feeling each other out, like maybe this will be a cool friend,” says LaKeith. “As love does, it just smacked us out of nowhere. I’m working on my music, writing and writing, and then this person who I was seemingly writing about pops up in my life. It was strange.”

LaKeith initially hesitated. But it didn’t take long before “I released myself to the love,” he says. He proposed to Kasmere on an island vacation just before her birthday in December—and was by her side as they welcomed their child. “All I ever tried to do in those crazy moments, like when she was in labor, was be a support system. That and figure out how many ice chips I needed to give her,” he says.

Kasmere appreciates her husband’s experience with his older children. “I’m really honored that I got to see the father in [him] before I was even having our baby,” she says. LaKeith, who says his daughters are "so fun and so smart," admits that navigating parenting relationships in the spotlight isn’t easy. “Sometimes, when things can get difficult, you have to remember that what’s most important is the child,” he says, “and that we’re pushing ourselves to grow, so we can reflect back to them the good things.”

LaKeith couldn't be happier having Kasmere by his side to grow and reflect with. "We've manifested this beautiful family," he says. "I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

For more on LaKeith and Kasmere, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.