Russell Simmons godfather to ex-wife's Kimora Lee Simmons' baby boy

Music mogul Russell Simmons has expressed gratitude for his blended family with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons, who chose her former beau to be the godfather of her baby boy with husband Tim Leissner.

The Def Jam label founder and former model were married for nearly 10 years before finalising their divorce in 2009. The split was amicable and they share custody of their two daughters, Ming and Aoki.

Kimora, who also has a six-year-old son with ex-boyfriend and actor Djimon Honsou, has since married businessman Tim, and earlier this year (15), they welcomed their first child together, son Wolf.

As Christmas approaches, Russell took to his Facebook page on Wednesday (23Dec15) to share how happy he is to be spending the holidays with his family, including Kimora, Tim and all four kids.

"Family. I'm excited to receive my family tomorrow," he wrote. "As a single man with kids who are away at boarding school it gets kind of lonely... I feel incredibly close to my best friend Kimora Leissner and her amazing spouse and now my business partner, Tim Leissner. I also feel very close to the father of one of the kids I love the most in the world (Kenzo Lee) Djimon Hounsou."

Simmons also revealed he was given the honour of being the godfather to little Wolf, adding, "When Tim asked me to be the Godfather to his and Kimora's beautiful baby boy, WOLF, I was overwhelmed. with my 2 biological kids being so sweet, compassionate and excelling in one of the best boarding schools in the world (receiving straight A's). I feel so grateful I can't really express the feelings in words."

He concluded, "While I realize that life is short and ever changing (you never know what's around the bend) for now I must say this morning meditation produced tears of joy. Thank you KIMORA LEE FOR BEING A STRONG, STRONG EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE. You are the best mother on the planet. "YOU PUT THIS THING TOGETHER".