Homeless teen made it to ‘American Idol’ Top 5 — now he’s a dad at 17
'American Idol' Season 22 finalist Triston Harper has officially become a dad at the age of 17! Yeah, you read that right. Harper and his wife, Paris Reed, have welcomed their first child together, a baby girl. According to a report by US Weekly, Harper’s mom, Hattie Mae Sullivan, announced that she became a grandmother through a Facebook post. On June 23, 2025, Sullivan took to her Facebook page and wrote, "Everybody, my Grand Baby has made her Grand Entrance …. weighing a solid 6lbs and 6 ounces. Brenley Lichelle Harper has now arrived on the scene, and she ain’t here to play. She’s already in boss mode!!!!! Feed me, Change me, Cut that bright light out. Yes, ma’am, whatever you want, G MA is gonna make it happen!!!!!”
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Harper revealed that he tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, Reed, by uploading two photos on his Facebook page. While sharing a relationship update with his fans in November 2024, Harper penned, "Iv [sic] got big news harpies ❤️❤️😘.” Just a couple of days later, Sullivan disclosed that Harper and Reed were expecting their first child together by posting a selfie they had taken with a positive pregnancy test.
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At that point, Sullivan simply captioned the Facebook post, "Now everybody has congratulated me on Triston and Paris getting married, but to me that is old news, but now I’m bout to be a ‘G Ma.’ #TeamPink, #TeamBlue and #BlessingsonBlessings." Shortly afterward, Harper confirmed the news by sharing his mother's post on his Facebook page. On May 11, Harper uploaded a picture of himself and Reed from the gender reveal party on the occasion of Mother's Day. Then, Harper also posted a snap with his mom at Aulani Resort & Spa during 'American Idol.' The caption of the post read, "I want to wish a happy Mother’s Day to these two beautiful women.❤️💘Hattie M Sullivan."
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For the unversed, Harper competed on Season 22 of 'American Idol', which aired from February to May 2024. During his time on the ABC singing show, Harper shed light on his difficult childhood. "By the age of 11 years old, my mom was with my stepdad. He was getting very abusive. We had to leave McIntosh, [Alabama], then everything went sideways, just like that. The lowest part of my life was when me and my mom had [become] homeless and were sleeping on the sidewalk. I had just turned 12," Harper said in a video at that time, as per People magazine.
Along with this, Harper also stated that he was grateful for the opportunity to compete on the fan-favorite singing show. Then, Harper explained, “I never thought I’d be able to tell my story to American Idol, ever. It makes me happy just thinking about it.” Harper made it all the way to the top 5 before getting eliminated alongside Emmy Russell. Eventually, Abi Carter emerged as the winner of that season. Following his departure from 'American Idol', Harper released his debut single, 'H.O.P.E', and since then, he has been focused on his music career. Every now and then, Harper continues to play local gigs as well.
