Soul star Robin Thicke is set to become a dad - his actress wife Paula Patton is pregnant with the couple's first child. Publicists have confirmed the happy news just weeks after Patton told Giant magazine she had "stopped taking birth control" in an effort to get pregnant.

The actress told the publication she had been mistaken as Thicke's pregnant wife last year when she showed up to the opening of Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Las Vegas, wearing an ill-fitting dress that gave her what appeared to be a baby bump.

She was horrified when red carpet photos led to industry speculation.

Patton says, "We went to Bora Bora for a vacation, and Robin got a text from (director) Hype Williams, and it said, 'Congratulations...' He said, 'People kinda think you're pregnant.'

"It was heartbreaking because, after everything - all the work I'd done - that was all people knew me for."

Patton admits she wasn't ready to become a mom a year ago, but that all changed a few months ago: "I've stopped taking birth control. I've been on it since Robin and I started dating.

"I'm really not a planning person, but I do know I want to be a parent."

Image © Bob Charlotte / PR Photos

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)