Gigi Hadid has revealed that boyfriend Zayn Malik caught their newborn when she delivered daughter Khai at home following a 14 hour labour.
Speaking to Vogue magazine – along with a cover shoot that she shot just 10 weeks after giving birth – the model spoke candidly about her ‘animalistic’ experience.
The cover girl, 25, revealed she welcomed her first child at her family ranch in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on September 20 with Zayn, her mother, Yolanda; her sister, Bella; and a local midwife and her assistant by her side.
Vogue cover girl: Gigi Hadid has revealed that boyfriend Zayn Malik caught their newborn when she delivered daughter Khai at home following a 14 hour labour
Admitting that she looked ‘crazy’ during labour, Gigi described her experience by stating, ‘I was an animal woman’.
Revealing that she had no idea she had even given birth amid the wild experience and exhaustion, she explained that she looked up to see new dad Zayn cradling their newborn after catching their daughter,
She noted: ‘I had to dig deep. I knew it was going to be the craziest pain in my life, but you have to surrender to it and be like, “This is what it is”. I loved that.’
New mother: Speaking to Vogue magazine – along with a cover shoot that she shot just 10 weeks after giving birth – the model spoke candidly about her experience
Although she made it through, Gigi confessed that there were times in her labour where she had second thoughts about having a natural birth.
‘There definitely was a point where I was like, I wonder what it would be like with an epidural, how it would be different’, she mused.
‘My midwife looked at me and was like, “You’re doing it. No one can help you. You’re past the point of the epidural anyway, so you’d be pushing exactly the same way in a hospital bed.”‘
Great outlook: Shooting the cover a mere 10 weeks after welcoming her first child, the model was under no illusion that her body hadn’t changed, but remained unfazed
Gigi added that she could see ‘terror’ in the eyes of her family members, but could also see that they remained tremendously proud of her efforts.
‘I know my mom and Zayn and Bella were proud of me, but at certain points I saw each of them in terror,’ Gigi recalled. ‘Afterward, Z and I looked at each other and were like, “We can have some time before we do that again”‘.
Over the span of four years, Gigi has made 35 appearances on international Vogue magazine covers, but this one was different.
New mum: Gigi revealed that childbirth was the ‘craziest pain she’d ever felt in her life’, and confessed that she had second thoughts about having a natural birth.
Shooting the cover a mere 10 weeks after welcoming her first child, the model was under no illusion that her body hadn’t changed, but remained unfazed.
In an empowering statement, she said: ‘I know that I’m not as small as I was before, but I also am a very realistic thinker.
‘I straight up was like, “Yeah, I’ll shoot a Vogue cover, but I’m obviously not going to be a size 0″‘.
She added: ‘Nor do I, at this point, feel like I need to be back to that. I also think it’s a blessing of this time in fashion that anyone who says that I have to be that can suck it.’
Doting daddy: Revealing that she had no idea she had even given birth amid the wild experience, Gigi explained that she looked up to see new dad Zayn cradling their newborn
Although Gigi’s modelling career began at the age of two when she was began shooting with Baby Guess, her childhood was kept largely out of the spotlight.
This is something both Gigi and Zayn want for their daughter, with the blonde bombshell explaining that she wants to protect her child’s privacy.
She consulted with some of her famous friends on the issue – citing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds as the type of parents she wishes to emulate.
Blake told the magazine that she and Gigi began speaking about the matter months ago, with Blake advising the star to do whatever she feels is right, noting that while she may be open on social media, it is up to her the ‘boundaries’ she wishes to set.
While Gigi is now a proud mother of her own, her own mum Yolanda has also never felt prouder.
Yolanda told Vogue: ‘I’m proud of her face on a magazine, but seeing her give birth was a whole other level of proud.
‘You go from looking at her as a daughter to looking at her as a fellow mother.’
Girl power: The cover girl, 25, revealed she welcomed her first child at her family ranch in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in September with her mother, Yolanda and sister, Bella at her side
Although Gigi gave birth in September, she chose to keep her daughter’s name private until last month, when she quietly changed her Instagram bio to read, ‘Khai’s mom’.
The internet was lit up with speculation the newborn had been named Dorothea, after her friend Taylor Swift released a song of the same name back in December.
The name does, however, bear a resemblance to Gigi’s sister Bella Hadid’s middle name, Khair.
Fans have also suggested the name is a nod to the Arabic roots in both of their families. Zayn is of Pakistani heritage while Gigi’s father, Mohamed is Palestinian.
According to some speculators, the name Khai reportedly means ‘crowned’ in Arabic, which would fit nicely with Zayn’s surname which means ‘King’.
Gigi and Zayn were first linked in November 2015 after she split from Joe Jonas; by January 2016, Gigi donned a Z necklace to Paris Fashion Week and had him as her phone background, although Zayn said they were ‘good friends.’
That same month, Gigi starred in his Pillowtalk music video, which had several steamy moments between the two.
The couple covered Vogue in April 2016 for a love filled shoot and one month later, they attend the Met Gala together.
Khai’s mom: Although Gigi gave birth in September, she chose to keep her daughter’s name private until last month, when she quietly changed her Instagram bio to read, ‘Khai’s mom’
Gigi and Zayn split in March 2018 but one month later, they were seen kissing in New York City.
By January 2019 they split again but were back together by December 2019; the couple confirmed their romance again in February 2020. She shared a throwback snap of Zayn at the Hadid family farm in December 2019.
By April 28, 2020, Gigi was rumored to be pregnant, which she confirmed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Vogue’s March 2020 issue is available on newsstands nationwide on February 16th.
Mom and dad: Gigi and Zayn were first linked in November 2015, although they have been on and off, the couple are now very much in love and committed to raising their daughter