Bon Iver fans are confused after a photograph showing band leader Justin Vernon and actor Cristin Milioti with a baby has been shared on social media by a record store.
Bon Iver have dropped their fifth studio album ‘SABLE, fABLE’, which is out today (April 11) via Jagjaguwar.
Yesterday (April 10), a Wisconsin record store celebrated the release by announcing they would be giving away some “behind the scenes” photo books, with one photograph showing a family-looking picture featuring Vernon, Milioti, and a baby.
It shows Vernon seated while holding a young baby as Milioti, most famously known for How I Met Your Mother and Palm Springs, stands behind him with hands on his shoulder.
Although Vernon is a notably private person, he is not believed to be a father, Stereogum reports. He recently told the New York Times Popcast: “Boohoo, I thought I’d have kids and a wife and like, that kind of love in my life. But I have my health. I have joy. I have love in my life everywhere I look.”
This caused some confusion and speculation among fans as to if Vernon is a father or not. “Whoa… do Cristin Milioti and Justin Vernon have a baby together???” one user on X asked.
Whoa… do Cristin Milioti and Justin Vernon have a baby together???
This was found in the SABLE, fABLE zine that was released with the album… pic.twitter.com/Q8n0XQCuAk
— uɐɟǝʇs (@year__walk) April 11, 2025
Meanwhile, on Reddit, one user speculates that “it’s possible this is just part of the concept art for the album”, adding “he’s stated in a couple of interviews now that he thought he’d have a “wife and kids” by now. It would be weird to say that if this was true.”
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byu/Money-Elk-6641 from discussion
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‘SABLE, fABLE’ marks Bon Iver’s first full-length record since 2019’s ‘i, i’, and follow last year’s ‘SABLE’ EP. Produced by Vernon and Jim-E Stack, the album was primarily recorded at Vernon’s April Base studio in Wisconsin.
In a four-star review of ‘SABLE, fABLE’, NME commended the album which was feared to be the departure of Vernon’s Bon Iver project, but instead is being seen as a “rebirth”.
It reads: “Though this is not Bon Iver’s answer to ‘Brat’ summer by any stretch of the imagination, many of these same existential questions also linger on ‘SABLE, fABLE’ – a record that grapples with his own identity as much as it does the twists and turns of life. Though some fans feared this might well be an epilogue to the Bon Iver project, it comes across as more of a rebirth.”
In other Vernon-related news, he opened up about his collaborations with Taylor Swift and Charli XCX on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He teamed up with Charli on her ‘Brat’ remix album last year for the song ‘I think about it all the time’, and collaborated with Swift on her 2020 album ‘Folklore’ and its followup, ‘Evermore’.
On Fallon, Vernon revealed he sampled Bonnie Raitt‘s ‘Nick Of Time’ for his collaboration with Charli, explaining: “My friend Danielle Haim told me, ‘you should sample ‘Nick Of Time’, and I was like: ‘That’s such a good idea’, because Charli’s song was about running out of time.”
He went on to say he and Raitt “have been friendly over the years”, calling her “my number one” and “the greatest living singer”. When calling her to request usage of the sample, Raiit apparently said “Yep – let’s do it”.
Meanwhile, he also spoke about his song with Swift, ‘Exile’. He told Fallon watching videos of Taylor Swift’s fans singing ‘Exile’ felt “out-of-body”.
