Surfer Kelly Slater and Kalani Miller Expecting First Baby Together

Kelly Slater, renowned for clinching 11 World Surf League championship titles, is now stepping into a new challenge—welcoming a newborn.

The 52-year-old surfing legend and his partner of 16 years, Kalani Miller, announced they were expecting their first child together on March 19. In a black-and-white montage shot alongside the ocean, Miller debuts her bump in a simple black swimsuit and is embraced by Slater. In the background, Ben Harper’s “The Three Of Us” plays as Miller simply captions the post with a silver heart emoji.

Fellow surfing pros, friends and fans all expressed their excitement in the comments. “Little champ on the way,” wrote one fan. “OMG BABY GOAT on the way,” wrote another user. Camila Alves McConaughey, pro surfers Chris Lisanti and Ben Thomson, and Mick Fanning also sent their congratulations to the happy couple.

Slater and Miller first met at a trade show more than 16 years ago. The two had been working with the brand Quicksilver for years but had never met until that fateful day. “It was funny that far into it we see each other. I remember exactly seeing him for the first time and like time really did stop,” Miller to Graham Besigner in an interview.

At the time of the interview in 2019, Miller said she hoped that she and Slater would have a child — or two — together. “I’m from a family of four. He’s from a family of three. Now when I see people traveling with four kids, I can’t imagine my family or anyone doing that. It’s crazy. I don’t know, maybe two or three,” she added. Slater won’t be completely new to fatherhood, though. He shares 28-year-old daughter Taylor Slater-Kelleher with Tamara Mitchell.

As to a baby’s impact on Slater’s potential retirement after a 31-year career, Miller said in 2019 that it was a “maybe,” adding, “I don’t know because it would be interesting to see him try to balance both of those things and whatever, having to put his competitive nature aside for a second and put a baby first.”

Our congratulations to Slater and Miller on their growing family!