Penn Badgley quietly introduces his new role: dad of twins

Penn Badgley is a dad once again—or twice again, to be exact.

The You star casually revealed that he and his wife, Domino Kirke-Badgley, have welcomed identical twin sons during an Instagram video promoting a live event for his podcast Podcrushed. “I’m interrupting my paternity leave—which I’m on, by the way, which is also why I’m whispering,” he said softly into the camera before leaning down to show the tiniest proof of all. “Here, look, wanna see baby feet? Just tiny, little baby feet right there. I don’t wanna wake them up.”

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First reported by EW, the moment wasn’t framed as a formal announcement.  It unfolded quietly, a whispered glimpse into the tender, disorienting reality of newborn life that every parent recognizes.

The sweetness of quiet beginnings

Badgley, 38, and wife Domino Kirke-Badgley, musician and doula, quietly welcomed twin boys this summer—a surprise Kirke herself described as “a PLOT TWIST—spontaneous twins beyond magical.” The babies join their 4-year-old son and Cassius, Domino’s teen son from a previous relationship, making theirs a bustling family of six.

The whisper was a cute video choice and it also symbolised what this newborn stage feels like. Life is suddenly quieter, more chaotic, more reverent. A world shrunk down to feedings, naps, and the awe of two tiny beings finding their place side by side.

Related: Paternity leave benefits the whole family. So why aren’t dads taking it?

Normalising paternity leave

In his video, Badgley framed the reveal as “interrupting my paternity leave” to promote upcoming Podcrushed live shows. That little aside matters. More public figures naming and claiming their paternity leave helps shift culture. It demonstrates to fathers that being at home in those fragile, sleepless weeks is both necessary and essential.

The actor has spoken about the “thrill” of expecting twins, especially as an only child himself. “Every time I see the sonogram, it feels so good. And also as an only child, that’s touching to see them together. They’re in there like it’s a hot tub,” he joked earlier this year on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

A moment parents understand

Parents online responded in kind—not with celebrity gossip, but with knowing humour and solidarity. @theellaraeboutique wrote, “Who let Joe watch the babies.” @fiftyshadezzofjayy added, “Lawd I hope no girl breaks his sons hearts.”

And that’s why this moment resonates. We’re not just watching a famous actor—this is every parent who has ever tiptoed through a room, phone in one hand, heart in the other, trying not to wake the babies.

Badgley’s whisper served as more than an announcement; it reminded us how sacred and surreal those first days can be, and how the quietest moments often echo the loudest in our lives as parents.

Related: We need to normalize paternity leave once and for all

Why paternity leave matters

Badgley’s offhand line—“being on paternity leave”—might seem casual, but it carries weight. A growing body of research shows that when fathers actually take leave—especially two weeks or more—it’s transformative.

One U.S. study in PubMed found that such leave was positively associated with how children perceive father-child closeness, involvement, and communication—even into middle childhood. Another investigation in The European Journal of Social Security, spanning multiple OECD countries (including the U.S., UK, Australia, and Denmark) found that fathers who took at least two weeks off were markedly more involved in childcare—feeding, bathing, playing—and that children with highly involved fathers tended to perform better cognitively in early years. 

Source:

1. Sex Roles. 2020. “Fathers’ Paternity Leave-Taking and Children’s Perceptions of Father-Child Relationships in the United States.”
2. The European Journal of Social Security. 2014. “Fathers’ Leave and Fathers’ Involvement: Evidence from Four OECD Countries.”