Actress Shay Mitchell and Matte Babel’s relationship is one of the most private romances in Hollywood. The two were first romantically linked together in 2017 and share two daughters: 4-year-old Atlas Noa and almost 2-year-old Rome Babel.
Mitchell is known for publicly sharing snippets of her high-profile celebrity life with her fans, but she and Babel have kept their relationship largely off-line. Here’s everything we know about Babel and his history with the Pretty Little Liars actress.
Babel is a Toronto native.
Similar to Mitchell, Babel was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. In an interview with Fox News, Mitchell talked about she and Babel were friends in Toronto. “We’ve known each other for nine years. We knew each other in Toronto. Like Drake and all of them, it’s a Toronto crew. We’re really, really awesome friends.”
Babel and Mitchell started dating in January 2017.
Mitchell and Babel, who at the time was a reporter for Entertainment Tonight Canada, were first linked in January 2017. A source told Entertainment Tonight at the time that Mitchell and Babel had been together “for a few months.” The source added the two “are serious and are having fun together.”
On Mitchell’s YouTube channel, Babel revealed the couple’s first date as they played Relationship Quiz. As Babel asked Mitchell the question, she couldn’t recall the name of the restaurant. “Village Idiot,” Babel said. He smiled and joked, “I wined you and dined.” Mitchell responded with a smirk.
Babel is friends with Drake.
Days after announcing the birth of their daughter, Babel attended Drake’s 33rd birthday with Mitchell by his side, per People. Mitchell posted herself and Babel dancing to Young Thug’s “The London” featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott at the rapper’s party. “Parents,” the You star captioned the story.
Babel works in music.
According to Babel’s social media, he’s involved with Ransom Music Group and DreamCrew, a management and entertainment group that manages Drake’s career and business portfolio, according to its site.
Babel was on set of Drake’s music video, “Laugh Now Cry Later,” featuring Lil Durk. Babel posted on Instagram behind the scene footage that he captured. “CLB 🥀,” Babel captioned the post, seemingly hinting at Drake’s upcoming album, Certified Lover Boy.
Babel welcomed his first child, daughter Atlas, with Mitchell in 2019.
Mitchell shared in 2018 that she suffered a miscarriage. At the time, outlets pointed out that Mitchell was last linked to Babel romantically. She did not comment about their relationship then but did write in her Instagram Story that in 2018, she lost “the child of [her] hopes and dreams.”
Mitchell did talk about Babel and share her first footage with him in the YouTube trailer for her series Almost Ready on the platform. In it, she spoke a little about their relationship and her excitement welcoming a child with him.
In the trailer, she said, “Now it’s about us, and I would never want it to be like I’m not confident of us,” over footage of her and Babel during her baby bump photoshoot. “I’m extremely confident now because I have my baby growing inside me. It didn’t feel right to just put up a photo and be like, I’m pregnant and have people just think that everything has been peaches and rainbows. This is real life, and I want people to come along with me on this journey in real-time.” Babel can be heard in the video complimenting her photos and affectionately calling her babe. The video gives a sweet first look at their relationship, which they’ve previously kept pretty private:
In late 2019, Mitchell posted a sweet picture of her holding her newborn daughter, Atlas, hand. “Never letting go…,” the actress captioned the pic.
In early January 2021, the actress spoke to Us Weekly about if she and Babel were planning to have a second child. “We’ll see what happens, you know when the time is right. It’s not something that we’re constantly focused on,” she said. She mentioned that she and Babel have difficulty keeping up as their daughter grows up so quickly. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you were just a baby a second ago. So who knows.”
Mitchell announced the couple was expecting their second child in February 2022.
Mitchell shared the news of her second pregnancy on her Instagram on February 7, 2022. Noting her grandmother, the woman she considered her best friend, passed away just days before, Mitchell wrote, “Saying goodbye to a loved one while simultaneously experiencing the joy of welcoming another into this world is the great cycle of life. It is also my most challenging season to date. I can’t help but think this was the universe’s plan all along, knowing I would need other worldly joy to cushion the blow of losing one of the most important people in my life. Yet, this is proof that love, life and loss can profoundly exist all at the same time. Gram, I miss you every day. Little one, we are so excited to meet you. I breathe a sigh of peace knowing you two are already connected in such a cosmic way.” You can see her announcement post here.
Babel and Mitchell welcomed their second child, daughter Rome, in spring 2022.
Mitchell announced the birth of her second daughter Rome during a June 4, 2022 interview with E!, though she didn’t share her baby’s birth date. “I recently just had my second child and this is why this is all so much sweeter because this is the first time I’ve actually been outside of the house since having her,” she said at a Béis event. “It’s really special to come and visit my other baby.”
Of Babel as a father, she said, “I think when you find someone who has the same morals as you, it makes parenting a lot easier. It’s definitely a partnership. Finding somebody who has similar morals to you is extremely important.”
Mitchell shared the first photo of her daughter Rome a day after, writing, “Losing the most important person in my life in the same year I welcomed my second daughter has shifted everything for me, but one thing remains steady in my soul—I’m certain they spent time together and that brings me peace and joy. We’re so happy you’re here Rome, named after my best friend, my soulmate, my ‘person,’ my Grandma Romaine. ❤️”
Similar to Mitchell, Babel has an acting background.
In 2010, Babel appeared on the Canadian teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation as a TV host for the on-screen singing competition Next Teen Star.
Babel and Mitchell are not in a rush to get married.
On August 3, 2021, Mitchell told E! News Daily Pop that she wasn’t about to marry Babel. “I don’t know if I’ve done anything in order,” she said. “I didn’t get married before a child. I had a child, didn’t get married. I don’t really know if that’s in the cards of us. I think we both agree; maybe it’s just me.”
She continued, “There’s no pressure here. I love it. I love the fact that we come home, and every day I’m like, ‘I choose you, and you choose me.’ It keeps us on our toes. I’m like, ‘Hey, I can walk out. I don’t need to go through a lawyer, I can just walk out.’ And same with him. It keeps it sexy.”
She said something similar in November of 2022 while being interviewed about her role on the new Prime Video rom-com Something From Tiffany‘s. After being asked by E! News‘ Francesca Amiker if the film inspired thoughts of wanting to be a fiancée, she simply replied, “No.”
“It didn’t make me want to do that,” she added.
Mitchell explained again in May 2023 why she has no interest in marriage, even to Babel.
Mitchell spoke on Call Her Daddy about why she is fine not tying the knot with Babel. “I love the word partner,” she said. “He’s my partner in a lot of things. He helps me with so much with my business. Obviously, we’re partners in raising our girls together. He’s my partner in life that we’re living right now, and I like it.”
While she said that Babel will sometimes call her his wife, she isn’t keen on making that a legal reality anytime soon. “I will never like, never say never about anything, but I just was never that girl that like, who had a Pinterest board of her wedding,” she said. “And my parents have been married for like 38, maybe even 40 years, and they’ve had an amazing relationship, but it just wasn’t something that I wanted. I didn’t feel that a piece of paper and a big celebration and a ring would like justify my love.”
She did say she’s interested in celebrating their relationship in a different way years down the line. “I’d love to have a commitment ceremony, maybe in like 10 years,” she said. “I could look at him and be like, ‘Hey, we should have a celebration because we just did that. Look at our girls were like in high school and like, we crushed it. We went through storms and we are here and we are standing. And we’re like high five, because we just did that.’”
Mitchell opened up about her “healthy” partnership with Babel in December 2023.
While Babel and Mitchell have always kept their relationship out of the spotlight, the actress spoke about how they parent together to Byrdie. “There are a lot of different questions you have as a parent like, ‘Am I doing this right?’ or ‘Is this the correct way to teach her this?’” she said. “Having a sounding board is so helpful. We share the same morals, and I’ll forever be grateful to be in a healthy relationship.”
She also credited her team for helping make balancing parenting and work possible. “I can do all of this because I have a team of people around me,” she said. “The other day on TikTok, someone commented, ‘Oh, look at the nanny feeding her child.’ I’ve never claimed to raise my children by myself. If I didn’t have the help I do, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do [in my career or as a mom]. It’s important to call it out because it is a luxury to be able to do both.”
She shared more about her “no marriage” plans in May 2024.
On May 20, 2024, during an interview with Today with Hoda & Jenna, Mitchell reiterated her feelings about marriage and partnership.
“I’ve manifested quite a few things in my life and getting married was never something that was right for me,” Mitchell said. “I think for the both of us, everything works so smoothly…He’s an incredible father, great partner, and that’s really how I see us. We’re awesome partners in life.”
She added that marriage “isn’t something that’s [in the cards]” and she corrected the host after they referred to Babel as her “husband,” calling him “my partner.”