Gigi Hadid decided even before her daughter Khai was born that she would keep the child out of the spotlight.
And in her March Vogue cover story, the 25-year-old supermodel shared she was inspired by the way her close friend Blake Lively, 33, and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 44, have raised their three children.
‘I have friends who are public figures and that’s how they’ve gone about it, and I see their kids really blossom in a different way,’ Gigi said referring to Blake and Ryan.
She won’t show her baby’s face: Gigi Hadid decided even before her daughter Khai was born that she would keep the child out of the spotlight
This is the most she has shown: The Versace model holding her little mini me baby
Ryan and Blake do not post about their kids – James, aged six, Inez, aged four, and Betty, aged one – on social media or take them to events.
And the only time they took any of their kids to a red carpet event was when Ryan was getting his star on the Hollywood walk of fame in 2016; James and Inez were both very young at the time and Betty was not yet born.
Vogue also talked to Blake for the cover story. ‘I told her you have to do what works for you,’ the Gossip Girl star said.
A close bond: And in her March Vogue cover story, the 25-year-old supermodel shared she was inspired by the way her close friend Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds have raised their three children. Seen in 2017
‘Gigi has a really special relationship with her fans, and I love how open she is on social media. I love seeing into her world,’ added The Town star.
‘I’m grateful for what she shares but also understand whatever boundaries she chooses to set.’
Hadid also said that her partner Zany Malik is in line with her direction.
Gigi told Vogue writer Chloe Malle – who is the daughter of Hollywood actress Candice Bergen and the late French film director Louis Malle – that ‘protecting their child’s privacy is something both she and Malik have been aligned on from the beginning.’
Support: ‘I have friends who are public figures and that’s how they’ve gone about it, and I see their kids really blossom in a different way,’ Gigi said referring to Blake and Ryan (pictured together in 2017)
Having moved to her family’s ranch amid the pandemic, Gigi has kept her social media activity to a minimum, but does often treat her fans to glimpses at her life as a new mother.
She shot the cover 10 weeks after giving birth
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.
According to some speculators, the name Khai reportedly means ‘crowned’ in Arabic, which would fit nicely with Zayn’s surname which means ‘King’.
Gigi is also aware of the lessons she wishes to bestow upon a daughter at an early age – particularly understanding her heritage.
Zayn is of Pakistani heritage while Gigi’s father, Mohamed is Palestinian.
Her friend’s advice: Vogue also talked to Blake for the cover story. ‘I told her you have to do what works for you,’ the Gossip Girl star said
Discussing her experience growing up in a household with a Muslim father and Christian mother, Gigi revealed that she was grateful that it taught her about religion while other children remained ignorant.
She recalled a time when her younger brother Anwar, now 21, was told in elementary school that their father was a ‘terrorist’ after 9/11, simply because he was Muslim.
Revealing that she never wants her daughter to be put in a similar position, she vowed that she and Zayn will teach Khai to ‘fully understand’ her background and ‘give her the tools’ to challenge and teach any children that may not understand and taunt her.
A team: Gigi told Vogue writer Chloe Malle – who is the daughter of Hollywood actress Candice Bergen and the late French film director Louis Malle – that ‘protecting their child’s privacy is something both she and Malik have been aligned on from the beginning.’ Seen in 2017
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.’
Also in her Vogue interview, she said Zayn caught their newborn when she delivered daughter Khai at home following a 14 hour labor.
The model spoke candidly about her ‘animalistic’ experience.
She 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.
Admitting that she looked ‘crazy’ during labor, Gigi described her experience by stating, ‘I was an animal woman.’
Mommy approves: 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’
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.’
Although she made it through, Gigi confessed that there were times in her labor 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.”‘
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.
Slim again: She has been showing off her post baby body on social media
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.’
Gigi and Zayn were first linked in November 2015. The couple covered Vogue in April 2016 for a love filled shoot and one month later, they attend the Met Gala together. 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.