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Ashley St. Clair ‘Is Focusing’ on Her Kids After Saying She Secretly Had Elon Musk’s 13th Child (Exclusive Source)

“It’s been a difficult time,” a source close to her says after she made headlines and drew scrutiny around the world

From left: Ashley St. Clair and Elon Musk . Photo: Ashley St. Clair/X; Andrew Harnik/Getty

Ashley St. Clair is stepping back from the spotlight, for the time being, after going public with a headline-making claim that she secretly had billionaire Elon Musk’s 13th child, a source tells PEOPLE.

“It’s been a difficult time but Ashley is focusing on caring for her children, which are and always have been her priority,” the source close to her says. “She adores them and is committed to them.”

Her story, shared publicly on Friday, Feb. 14, drew immediate attention — and brought scrutiny to St. Clair, a 26-year-old writer, author and conservative media personality.

“Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father. I have not previously disclosed this to protect our child’s privacy and safety, but in recent days it has become clear that tabloid media intends to do so, regardless of the harm it will cause,” she said in her initial statement.

Musk, 53, has not publicly responded to her, and his representatives have not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

He did, however, post on X in response to another user who claimed, without evidence, that St. Clair had “plotted” to “ensnare” him. “Whoa,” he replied.

In a now-deleted X post back to Musk on Saturday, Feb. 15, St. Clair wrote that he had “not responded” to her or her team despite what she called days of attempted communication.

Ashley St. Clair.Ashley St. Clair/x

A representative for St. Clair said in a statement on social media on Saturday that she and Musk had been working on an “agreement about raising their child” and that “we are waiting for Elon to publicly acknowledge his parental role with Ashley [and] to end unwarranted speculation.”

“Ashley trusts that Elon intends to finish their agreement quickly, in the best interests of the wellbeing and security of the child they share,” St. Clair’s rep said.

In an interview with The New York Post on Saturday, St. Clair said she first connected with Musk through direct messages on X and then their relationship deepened after she met him in San Francisco on a work assignment.

She said she’d given birth to a son with Musk but declined to share his name. She also has another child.

While she did not provide “material proof” to the Post of Musk’s paternity, St. Clair said she had met his mother, Maye, and some of his 12 other kids.

She said she otherwise had stayed shrouded in secrecy while pregnant — at others’ request — until going public on Friday.

“I was completely isolated … Every part of my career and everything I used to do I couldn’t do anymore,” she told the Post. She previously published a children’s book and has written for the conservative satire site The Babylon Bee. “I was told not to tell anybody.”

Elon Musk.Chesnot/Getty

Musk is also a father to children Nevada, Vivian, Griffin, Kai, Saxon, Damian, X Æ A-12 (whom he recently brought to the Oval Office), Exa, Strider, Azure, Techno and his second youngest child, whose name has not been publicly shared.

He has kids with ex-wife Justine Wilson, an author; the singer Grimes (whose real name is Claire Boucher); and Shivon Zilis, who works at his Neuralink company.

Musk has been open about his concerns over what he calls declining birth rates and how, he feels, he and other individuals can change that.

“You’ve got to walk the talk. So I do have a lot of kids, and I encourage others to have lots of kids,” he said last year.