Alfonso Ribeiro Opens Up About Daughter's Long Recovery After Accident

Alfonso Ribeiro is not letting a tough week keep him from celebrating his daughter!

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star opened up about his daughter Ava Sue's accident right before she marked her 4th birthday and was full of praise for her bravery and creativity. 

During an appearance on "Live with Kelly and Mark," the actor opened up about a heartbreaking incident involving his youngest daughter on the eve of her 4th birthday. The TV star, who shares three children with his wife, Angela Unkrich, and a 20-year-old daughter Sienna from a previous relationship, emotionally recalled the incident. Speaking to the hosts, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, he stated:

"On Thursday, unfortunately, my daughter got injured and had to have emergency surgery. So it was a very stressful weekend. She fell and had basically road rash on her face and arm, and so they had to scalpel off all the skin."

Consuelos then inquired about the little girl's well-being, to which the "Magnum PI" guest star responded, "It's going to be a long process." In a surprising revelation, the 51-year-old shared that his wife had a hunch that something unfortunate would befall their baby girl. She warned everyone to prevent Ava from engaging in any activities that could potentially result in harm.  

Despite her warning, he shared with the hosts that their nanny unintentionally overlooked the cautionary advice. The comedian added, "My nanny was running back into the house to get pads and stuff, and [Ava] went on a little sit-down scooter anyway."

Going through such a scary event made her birthday more special, judging by the emotional words Ribeiro penned in his baby girl's honor. Taking to his Instagram page, he shared pictures from Ava's birthday, which showed the tiny tot looking adorable in a purple gown with puffed sleeves. 

She smiled happily at the camera as she held on to a matching four-shaped balloon and a gold crown. In the next slide, the celebrant posed cutely behind a garland of flowers, while the last saw her surrounded by her siblings. In the caption, he partly wrote:

"Happy Birthday to my sweet Ava Sue. As some of you know, Ava had a very difficult week. I'm so proud of how well she handled everything." 

The proud father described her as "brave, strong, and creative," adding, "I love everything about my little girl." 

He also had some sweet words for his wife, expressing his gratitude to her for being amazing. He continued, "Long nights with a little girl in pain and applying medication every few hours. My two heroes."

Fans shared their well-wishes for Ava in the comments, like this person who wrote, "Happy Birthday 🥳 🙏🏽 speedy recovery. In Jesus' name, Amen 💞🌸." Another noted, "Hoping your sweet girl feels better soon. Happy Birthday, Ava Sue!" while a third called her beautiful and thanked him for sharing with his followers. A fourth gushed, "Happiest of birthdays, Ava! Aww, such a beautiful family🎊🌸🩷🎂💕." 

Fans will recall that in 2019, the doting parents were excited to welcome their baby to the world. While sharing the news, the former gymnast playfully mentioned that their son preferred getting a puppy instead. She added that they were just delighted to have a healthy baby. 

When the "Kidz in the Wood" actor joined Tyra Banks as a co-host for the dance competition series, many fans were relieved, especially after expressing dissatisfaction with Banks' hosting in previous seasons. 

However, The Blast reported that Ribeiro faced his share of backlash for consistently mispronouncing the contestants' names, leading to frustration among viewers. In a tik tok video, the star called Shangela – a professional drag queen competing on the show, Angela. 

Widely recognized for her appearances on the hit show "RuPaul's Drag Race," the mistake did not go down well with fans. One wrote, "They better get Miss Shangie's NAME RIGHT!" while another teased, "She should call him 'Alonzo.'" A netizen quipped, Please tell me he got corrected 😭."