Jeremy McConnell vows to fight for JOINT CUSTODY of Stephanie Davis’ baby if DNA test confirms he is Caben-Albi’s dad
Distraught model is desperate to be a dad if DNA test proves ex's child is his
JEREMY McConnell will ask for JOINT CUSTODY of Stephanie Davis' son if a DNA test confirms he is the tot's dad.
A question mark has hung over baby Caben-Albi's head since he was born on 13 January, but Jeremy - Steph's ex of four months - strongly believes (and hopes) that he is the child's dad.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun online, he said: "If I am the father of Stephanie's baby then I one hundred per cent want joint custody.
"I am serious about being a good dad if the child is mine.
"If I need to go through the courts to get access to my son then so be it - I will take the necessary action to make sure I am a part of my son's life.
"I really hope it doesn't get to that point and we can come to an agreement amicably and as adults - as two loving parents with our child's best interests at heart.
"If I'm his dad I want to be fully involved in his life from the moment the test comes back.
"I love kids, and I've always wanted a family."
Jeremy vowed that if he is Caben's dad he will "fly to Liverpool every weekend" in order to spend time with his son, and make sure he builds a strong relationship with him and be a good influence in his life.
He explained: "I don't want him having a step dad, some mucker calling him 'son' and taking him to his football matches.
"If that's my boy I will be active and present in his life.
"The situation between me and Steph has killed me. People might think I've had an easy ride, I admit that it might look like that but inside it's been killing me.
"We weren't that careful and I did love her to the extent I would have a child with her.
"I've always wanted the perfect family, I would have loved to be involved in her pregnancy, but it wasn't possible - the relationship was far too toxic."
Today, desperate Jeremy took a DNA test live on This Morning after revealing that Steph and her legal team had tried to force him to sign a secret contract about the paternity of the baby.
The silver-haired presenter explained: "The contract says we can’t discuss the contract. So we can’t discuss that.
“What I can say, and we have looked at this professionally as a team, what we can say is that the word we would use for that contract, if it were me, and I wouldn’t sign it, is unreasonable.
“Because the terms of that contract in my eyes and in terms of our legal team here and the people that we’ve discussed it with, it has an impact on your entire life.”
Jeremy maintains that he flew home from Thailand the day Steph gave birth to her son - who she previously claimed she named after a random man - and has been trying to gain access - and answers - since he landed back in the UK.
He said: "I came home from Thailand the day that baby was born and the first thing I did was call her parents.
"It was like talking to a brick wall. I am angry at myself for allowing it to get to this point."
Stephanie was pictured drunk and smoking a cigarette on the tarmac of a Liverpool car park shortly after announcing she was pregnant, and she was also seen drinking a pint of beer with a mystery man in a pub beer garden.
Jeremy must now wait to see if Stephanie will send a DNA swab from baby Caben-Albi to Jeremy Kyle's DNA lab to finally reveal if he is the tot's dad once and for all.
Pleading directly to his former love he begged: "I want the best for the child.
"Please Stephanie, stop all the games if it's our child.
"Give me what I want, please give me a DNA test. We need to work together as a team now."
Yesterday The Sun online revealed that Jeremy believes he IS the father of Steph's baby, and hopes that he is, too.
Admitting that he can see a resemblance between him and little Caben, he begged his former love to give him a DNA test so he can step up and be a good dad.
Explaining that he "flew home from Thailand the day the baby was born", Jeremy is eager to be a positive influence and role model in Caben's life if the DNA test comes back positive.
He said: "The baby is only a few weeks old, there is still time for me to bond with him and be the first person he ever falls in love with.
"I'm not a feckless father, it upsets me that people think me I'm that kind of man.
"I loved Steph very much, but our relationship had turned so toxic I had to walk away to protect her and her - our - unborn child."
The new mum and former Hollyoaks actor had previously been really vocal about how she would name her first born after her dead grandad, and at one point even toyed with giving him the middle name 'Patrick' as a homage to his Irish roots.
Back in August, a few months after revealing she was pregnant via a promptly deleted comment on her ex's Instagram, Steph jetted off for a fun girls' holiday.
While away, she explained how she met a man in a bar who would go on to play a HUGE role in her son's life - he would inspire his name.
Writing in her OK! mag blog in August, she revealed: "I've picked my boy's name! It's not Albi but that will definitely be a middle name.
"I'm going to keep it a secret for now but I will say it's something different – I've not heard it before! It's like a movie star name.
"We got it when I was getting chatted up with my friends recently and he said his name when he left – we just all looked at each other and knew, so thanks to him!
"My mum loves it but my brothers weren't so sure to start with – but I think they want a proper lad's name."
JEREMY McConnell has taken a paternity test live on Wednesday's This Morning - as he desperately tries to find out if he is the father of Stephanie Davis' baby.
The former Celebrity Big Brother star joined hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on the show to discuss his ongoing paternity battle with his ex-girlfriend, who gave birth to son Caben-Albi last month.
Jeremy took the DNA test live on air with the help of AlphaBiolabs DNA Testing, the same company used by the Jeremy Kyle Show.
The brand was called to the This Morning studios at 9am to take a swab from the Irish model, with the results set to take 24 hours once a sample is taken from baby Caben - if Steph agrees to it.
Speaking to the hosts, Jeremy said: "I’ve never once said I wasn’t the father, I’m not fame hungry.
"I want to set the record straight, I just said there was a month from April to May I didn’t know about and I want reassurance.
"When she makes it public it has to be dealt with, I have to defend myself.
"I hope I am the dad, people are thinking that I’m a bad person, thinking I won’t step up and I would.
"I want to be a dad I want to stand up [and be there] but I’m not being given the opportunity."
But after the 23-year-old issued her ex with a legal document which would stop him talking about the outcome of any DNA test, Phillip told Jeremy he shouldn't sign it.
Holly started off by saying: "This is tricky because we have seen this contract and we can’t discuss it because of the terms of the contract."
Phillip continued: "The contract says we can’t discuss the contract. So we can’t discuss that.
What I can say, and we have looked at this professionally as a team, what we can say is that the word we would use for that contract, if it were me, and I wouldn’t sign it, is unreasonable.
"Because the terms of that contract in my eyes and in terms of our legal team here and the people that we’ve discussed it with, it has an impact on your entire life."
The test came the day after Jeremy broke a nine month vow of silence to plead with the former Hollyoaks actress to finally let him know if he is the father of little Caben-Albi, the son she gave birth on January 13th.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun online, Jeremy begged the 23-year-old to stop playing games and confirm who the little boy's dad is once and for all.
He said: "I do believe I am the father. I want the baby to be mine, I can see a resemblance.
"I never said the baby wasn't mine, all I said was that there was a doubt because she was with other men in the first two weeks of April.
"Before we went to Cape Verde, we were broken up for two weeks - and I have no idea who she was sleeping with then."
Jeremy claims that during their many splits, Stephanie would contact him to gloat about spending time and sleeping with other men - and admits that he also behaved badly.
He adds that their relationship went toxic just weeks after leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house after the couple fell in love in front of the eyes of the nation - including Steph's then-boyfriend Sam Reece.
Away from the show, the actress struggled to deal with Jez's new status as a reality TV sex symbol with jealous rows and "emotional blackmail" forcing them apart.
In fact the on-off nature of their relationship allowed for infidelity on both sides, and Jeremy admits that his "wandering eye" didn't help reassure his fragile girlfriend.
The pair finally split after a row at a nightclub in Basingstoke on April 29. This is the last time Jeremy and Stephanie saw one another.
Steph told Jeremy that she was pregnant a month after their bitter split at the end of April 2016.
Jeremy smiles as he recalls the moment that Steph rang him to tell him that he was to become a dad.
He said: "I was delighted. I was buzzing. I told her I loved her and I would be there for her.
"My initial reaction was to go straight to her... but I didn't.
"Maybe I regret it a little now, but I know I've done the right thing.
"Things were so bad between us that going back to her could have been harmful for her and the baby.
"I loved her so much, I didn't want to take that risk."
Since Stephanie told the world she was pregnant in a hastily deleted comment on Jez's Instagram, he has stayed away from her and stayed silent.
In part he claims this is because he didn't want to rile the fragile star and cause her and the baby undue stress, but also because he felt he couldn't reach out to her privately without her relaying their conversation to her fans on Twitter.
Jeremy said: "It's been killing me to stay quiet.
"People think I'm in denial, but I just want reassurance. That's it.
"If I'm the dad I will be delighted and I'll be civil with Steph. I want us to work together and do the best for our son.
"But she's making it really hard for me at the moment."
One of the reasons Jeremy thinks Steph is delaying giving him a paternity test is because she was hurt so badly by their split that she is enjoying allowing him to be portrayed as an uncaring, feckless father - which is something he strenuously denies.
He said: "She's happy getting the sympathy.
"She's getting a TV show out of it, she's taking the baby on a free holiday, she's got her OK! deals, her magazine spreads... I just think it's horrible parading him around.
"The baby has only just come out of the womb and already she's saying on a video that he's already had his first modelling shoot?
"I would not be in to it. It's just money making.
"She doesn't want me involved.
"Everything I see it's all about 'me and the baby'.
"She's parading him around like he was the FA Cup. Stephanie is living off me and the baby, simple."
A representative for Stephanie Davis disputed Jeremy's claims of infidelity in a strongly worded statement.
They said: "Jeremy has spent nine months claiming he isn't the father of baby Caben, to suddenly announce there is a similarity shows he is clearly deluded and feeling the pressure.
"Stephanie was at all times faithful to Jeremy. She confirmed to Jeremy that she was pregnant ten days after the relationship had ended.
"Any images or video that Jeremy refers to are 2-3 weeks after Stephanie had announced that she was pregnant and any suggestion that she was unfaithful to him are to detract away from his numerous infidelities whilst in the relationship.
"Jeremy has caused Stephanie massive amount of stress, pressure and upset throughout her pregnancy, ruining what for most women is one of the most special times of their lives.
"Quite frankly he should be ashamed of himself.";
Fathers4Justice back Jeremy McConnell
THE FOUNDER of Fathers4Justice has backed Jeremy McConnell in his plight to find out if he is the dad of his ex-girlfriend's baby.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun online, Matt O’Connor, the founder of Fathers4Justice said that Jeremy "needs to stand up for his rights AND the rights of the child."
He said: "Stephanie Davis has asked Jeremy McConnell to sign a legal document which would prevent him talking about a paternity dispute after she gave birth to son Caben-Albi last month.
"The extraordinary attempt to gag him comes after Davis has paraded the baby in the media and seemingly thinks it's acceptable for the child to be denied a relationship with its father – whoever that is.
"In fact, its reported the first time McConnell saw the child was on the cover of a magazine.
"He has now rightly asked for a DNA test to establish whether he is the father or not, and should make an application to a Family Court to order Davis to comply with this.
"Not only does he need to do this to establish whether he will be liable for child support, but he will almost certainly want to be a loving dad to his son if paternity is established.
"Most importantly, Caben-Albi deserves the best of BOTH his parents. It’s his human right to have the love and support of his mum AND dad.
"Mum needs to set aside her differences with McConnell and put her child’s rights to a dad first, because no parent should ever hate their ex more than they love their child."
Matt added that he has met countless dads who have been tricked in to paying for children who aren't theirs, as well as parents who have never been granted fair and legal access to their own children.
He explained: "The issue of paternity fraud is one we increasingly deal with at Fathers4Justice.
"Too many dads are being duped by mums into paying for children that are not theirs. To date not a single mother has been prosecuted for paternity fraud, which we believe should be treated as seriously as regular fraud.
"In fact, a recent report by DNA Clinics said that nearly HALF of men who take paternity tests are NOT the real father.
"Failure to establish paternity can have a devastating effect on children and their families at a later date."
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