Power Actor Rotimi Expecting First Baby with Fiancée Vanessa Mdee: 'Brand-New Challenge'

Rotimi and fiancée Vanessa pregnancy photos
Rotimi and fiancée Vanessa pregnancy photos
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Leslie Andrews

Baby's nearly here!

Power and Coming 2 America actor Rotimi and fiancée Vanessa Mdee, a Tanzanian singer/songwriter, are currently expecting their first baby together, a son, they reveal exclusively with PEOPLE.

"We are super excited to welcome our son. As first-time parents, everything about this experience has been a brand-new challenge," they say. "We love it."

Mdee, 33, adds of her "very smooth" pregnancy journey so far, "He's been so good to us. No real pain or symptoms. Some funny cravings and food aversions here and there. It's been much harder in these final weeks because he's preparing his arrival, but all in all we've been super blessed."

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Rotimi, 32, and Mdee met at an Essence Festival afterparty in New Orleans and have been "inseparable ever since," as Rotimi puts it: "Vee headed back to Africa [at the time], but we quickly realized we couldn't and didn't want to live without each other."

The pair later got engaged on Dec. 30, 2020, in Atlanta.

In June, Rotimi shared a heartfelt tribute to Mdee on Instagram, writing, "Happy Queen day to my best friend, my angel, my Favorite person, and the love of my life. Enjoy this beautiful day."

Their maternity photos, taken by Leslie Andrews and shared exclusively with PEOPLE, featured make-up by Danielle Elston, hair by Autumn Thomas and styling by Elena Ayala.

As for what kind of parents they think each other will be when their baby boy arrives, Rotimi — whose debut album All or Nothing is out now — says his fiancée is destined to be a "very passionate, love and protective mom."

And Rotimi, Mdee says, is "definitely going to be the cool, calm, collected and fun dad who's also a great communicative disciplinarian."