LOS ANGELES — As the Los Angeles Rams prepare to take on the Cincinnati Bengals this Super Bowl Sunday, Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said he remains on call for the birth of his first child with girlfriend Lauren Wood.
At a virtual news conference Monday, Beckham said he had his phone nearby awaiting news, “just in case.” Smiling at a reporter’s question about his ongoing baby watch, he added, “I don’t need you to put it in the air about the (baby being born) Saturday night or … Sunday.”
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“I think God’s got a different plan,” he said. “I don’t need it during the Super Bowl. I want to be able to see my child being born so, I’m on watch. I’m on standby.”
On Friday, Beckham told reporters that he was still on standby.
“People are like, ‘Oh, you’re getting two of the biggest blessings of a lifetime, you know, all in one week,’” he said at a news conference, adding that “a long time ago … (that) sounded good.”
“Now, it’s just kind of like … Man, that’s a lot of blessings all in at one time,” he said. “I thought about that last night. I’m like, man, it really is a lot … for one person to handle and hold onto.”
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He added that he hopes his son is born Sunday night or in the next few days.
“I have a great support system. You know, my lady helps me a lot with that, and she’s like … ‘You focus on winning. … I got this,’” he said. “But at the same time … I want to be there. So, it hasn’t been easy.”
Beckham and Wood, a model and fitness trainer, announced in a post on Instagram last year that they were expecting.
The couple has kept their relationship relatively private, People reported. The two were first linked in November 2019, according to the magazine.