Usher & Fiancee Expecting

By: Shannon Gossage

The couple released a statement Wednesday that read, "We are extremely excited at this point in our lives planning our wedding and the joy that comes with expecting our first child together. We hope people will be happy for us and respect our privacy during this happy period in our lives." The news comes a week after Foster avoided the pregnancy question in an interview with Essence.com. When asked whether she was pregnant, Foster replied, "Yes, I do plan to have children with Usher. This is the man I love and plan to spend the rest of my life with, so why wouldn’t I want to share that bond of brining another life into this world with him?"

This will be Usher’s first child and Foster’s fourth. She recently divorced Noontime music co-founder, Ryan Glover. In the interview with Essence.com, Foster also shot down rumors that she and Usher became romantically involved while she was still married to Glover. She said, "Usher had nothing to do with what happened between my husband and me. Between my hectic travel schedule and our personality differences, my ex and I grew apart. There are no hard feelings between us."

Usher, 28, and Foster, 36, began dating about a year and a half ago. They were friends for seven years prior to that and she was his stylist for five of those years. Foster said, "I was the only female friend he felt he could talk to." No wedding date has been set. Usher is currently working on his fifth studio album, which is set to hit sores in November. The album has not yet been named. The first single is due out in September and he also has a new signature fragrance that will be hitting stores around the same time.