Garcelle Beauvais' 3 Kids: All About Oliver, Jaid and Jax
Garcelle Beauvais has one son from a previous marriage and twin boys with her ex-husband
Garcelle Beauvais is a fiercely protective mama to her three sons.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star first became a mom to Oliver Saunders, 32, in 1991 with her producer ex-husband Daniel Saunders, whom she divorced in 2000. The former NYPD Blue actress then married CAA agent Michael Nilon in 2001, and they welcomed twin boys Jax Joseph Nilon and Jaid Thomas Nilon, 16, in 2007. They divorced in 2011 after Beauvais discovered Nilon was having an affair. Beauvais told PEOPLE at the time, "My focus at this time is on my kids and healing the pain."
In a blog post for PEOPLE in 2012, the Love Me As I Am author wrote about her dream of having kids.
"As much as I love what I have accomplished so far as an actress, I have to say that being a mom — with all of its challenges and rewards — has been the best role of my life," Beauvais wrote, adding that she was the youngest of seven children and her mom has 25 grandchildren.
"I always wanted to have kids, and when I dreamed about my future, I pictured having a boy first and then a girl — the perfect nuclear family," she continued. "Well, we can't always have it our way. But I have to say, I got really lucky!"
Even with their age gap, Oliver and his twin brothers are close. "To this day, my happiest moments are when all three of my boys are with me hanging out at home. Even though they are a generation apart, they love each other so much," Beauvais wrote.
The former The Real co-host credits her kids with contributing to her "full life," and says they're part of the reason she's in no rush to settle down. "I don't want to just bring anybody in as a seat filler. I really want it to be the person. I feel like we put so much pressure on women to have a man, be married, have kids. Can we just live our lives?" she told PEOPLE in April 2022.
Here's everything to know about Garcelle Beauvais' three children.
Oliver Saunders, 32
Oliver was born in New York City in 1991, later moving to Los Angeles so Beauvais could pursue her acting career.
Luckily for the Haitian actress, he was an easy-going baby.
"I had my first son, Oliver, when I was very young," Beauvais previously shared. "I was modeling in New York when I met his dad. We immediately fell in love and got married after only two months. Crazy, right?! Two years later, Oliver appeared on the scene. He was the best baby, so easy and happy. I took him everywhere with me — on photo shoots, on location, and he did so well on airplanes, too."
Oliver began dabbling in rap music at age 10, later adopting the stage name Jayson Rose. He has also acted in a few TV shows, including appearing alongside his mom on The Jamie Foxx Show. However, music remained his passion — he later released a Blunts and Starbucks mixtape and performed with artists such as Talib Kweli, Dom Kennedy and others.
He has been open about his sobriety journey after struggling with addiction throughout his youth. Oliver credited his wife, Samantha Saunders, whom he married in May 2022, and their son, Oliver Jr., with motivating him to turn his life around.
"For years I had been trying to fight it. I had gone to rehab, I had talked to people, therapists, all type of stuff like that," he told Confessional Magazine in 2021. "Even though I told myself when I felt like I was ready to stop, and I wanted to stop I could, but it was easier said than done. Then I swear, I swear, it was God, and my wife and my son, and it was just one day, none of that stuff mattered."
In September 2022, however, Samantha accused Oliver of cheating on her with Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss, among other women, while working at Lisa Vanderpump's Vanderpump à Paris in Las Vegas, per Page Six. Oliver responded on Instagram, according to the outlet, writing, "I apologize for my Sons Mother Putting My Business Out There. We Are Getting Divorced."
Viewers watched the drama play out during a March 2023 episode of Vanderpump Rules. Leviss met Oliver while on a girls' trip to Las Vegas, and the pair ended up making out at a club. Beauvais later told Entertainment Tonight that she "couldn't take" watching her kid kiss on national TV.
"I found myself watching it through my fingers," she said. "You don't want to see your kid makeout. And it felt like it was the entire episode. Felt like it slowed down to a crawl."
In May 2023, Beauvais told PEOPLE that it "hurts her heart" to see Oliver get tangled up in a dramatic storyline for reality television.
"My friends were like ... they were mad for me, and they were like, 'We felt like Oliver was used.' But Lisa [Vanderpump] has been great, and she stood up for him, and I appreciate that, and we move on," she said.
Despite the drama, Oliver regularly shares snaps of his little boy on Instagram. In October 2022, Oliver and Beauvais celebrated his son's birthday with a trip to the aquarium. The proud dad shared a photo of him holding Oliver Jr. while Beauvais points up at the fish tank.
In addition to hanging out with his son, Oliver regularly spends time with his two younger brothers and mom. He posted a family photo of him, Oliver Jr., Jax, Jaid and Beauvais in May 2022, with the caption "Family First !! 💙💙💙💙💙💙," before joking that Beauvais "Couldn't Get a Girl If She Tried."
On both RHOBH and social media, Beauvais has repeatedly expressed how proud she is of Oliver for overcoming his struggles. "I love you so much! you have taught me just as much As I've taught you 😊I am proud to be your mom and to see the man you've become💙❤️🙏🏽 ," she captioned a series of photos in February 2021.
Now that she is a grandma, the reality star also enjoys seeing her son as a dad. "Watching Oliver become a dad has been one of the greatest joys of my life," she wrote on Father's Day in June 2022.
Jax Joseph Nilon, 16
Jax Joseph Nilon, along with his twin brother Jaid Thomas Nilon, was born on Oct. 18, 2007, in Los Angeles. Jax was born at 8:30 p.m. and weighed 4 lbs. 7 oz.
At the time, Beauvais said in a statement, "We're so in love with them. The boys are just gorgeous."
The actress later revealed that her second pregnancy wasn't quite as smooth as her first.
"I learned the hard way that trying to have babies when you're older is a whole different ball game. It took blood, sweat (both the good and bad kind!), lots of tears, and most importantly, fertility treatments. But I finally got pregnant. It was truly a miracle," Beauvais wrote in a blog post for PEOPLE.
She added that she was "a bit disappointed" to find out she was having two boys — "I'm such a girly-girl, and I couldn't believe I wasn't getting a little mini-me!" — but that she was "so excited" for her sons.
"Even though they're fraternal twins, I wondered if they would share a lot of similar personality traits. But from day one, they were different. Jax came out screaming while Jaid came out looking both serious and curious about the world around him," she wrote.
Jax recently started high school after graduating from 8th grade in June 2022. Beauvais posted several photos of him at his graduation, writing, "We love you💙 great things ahead!!"
Being the son of a reality star in the spotlight hasn't always been easy. On Aug. 24, 2022, Jax spoke out against harassment he's received from RHOBH fans on Instagram, which Beauvais reposted to her Instagram Story.
"Well I'd like to start off by saying I am still a kid and wish to not be viewed as a fully matured adult, because I am not one," Jax wrote. "It is currently my first week of high school and, instead of enjoying it like most kids at my school, I have to deal with being attacked on social media."
He continued, adding that he "did not sign up for this show, nor do I have anything to do with the show's drama."
"I just want to be a normal kid," he said, insisting that his Instagram account is "not for publicity nor the public's gaze." He added, "However, middle-aged women spamming me with racist and crude comments about my family is not what I expected for my first week of high school."
Earlier in the 12th season of RHOBH, Erika Girardi told Jax to "get the f--- out of here" at Beauvais' 55th birthday party. She later apologized, writing on her Instagram Story, "I did not hire bots to attack Jax, and my offer to apologize to him, in person, still stands."
Beauvais also spoke out on Instagram after the hateful messages started, writing, "I'm usually a very strong woman I've been raised to be strong my life has taught me to be strong but when it comes to my kids! It hurts it's not OK I've been in tears all night it's just a TV show people scream at your TV throw something at your TV but leave our kids alone #RHOBH."
Jaid Thomas Nilon, 16
Jaid was born one minute after his brother, weighing 4 lbs. 9 oz.
In December 2007, Beauvais admitted that raising twins was unbelievably hard. "You can't be prepared. No book can really tell you how to hold one and burp the other," she said.
Beauvais later launched a children's book series based on Jax and Jaid's "experiences as twins of mixed race who split their time between two homes."
In another blog post for PEOPLE, Beauvais shared more about co-parenting with Nilon. "Frankly, I miss my boys so much when they're not with me. While it's nice to get the break (and a chance to have a clean house!) while they're with their dad, it's also unnervingly quiet. As weird as it sounds, I find myself having to figure out what do with my time at home when the boys aren't with me," she wrote.
But she and Nilon always put the twins first. "It's better for them to see us both at their sporting events and school activities," she explained. "We also do things to help the boys feel at home in both of our houses. They have clothing at both places, but they bring special stuffed animals, toys or books with them when they travel between their homes."
The boys are no strangers to high-profile events, having attended everything from awards shows to movie premieres since they were young. Their first red carpet event was at the launch of Beauvais' children's jewelry line, Petit Bijou, on Nov. 15, 2008, where they wore matching white T-shirts with their mom and Nilon.
As a teenager, Jaid's interests range from basketball and modeling to his girlfriend Ashlyn. But Beauvais has no interest in being a "momager," she admitted to PEOPLE in May 2024.
"He's got the [modeling] chops. I want him to figure it out," the reality star said. "I need him to get his license though, so he can drive himself because I'm busy."
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