Gigi Hadid has graced the cover of the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar and surprised fans by opening up about life in lockdown as a new mom. The model welcomed her daughter Khai in September; she is the first child for Gigi and boyfriend Zayn Malik.
“It’s peaceful and recharging for me,” the model shared about her quiet life during the pandemic.
“I deal with a lot of things through just sitting and thinking and writing. People made jokes when Covid hit, like, ‘Oh, Gigi, you’ve been practicing quarantine for years now,’ because when I had a few days off, I would drive to the farm from the city and be with myself in my little cabin, making a resin chair or drying flowers.”
The new family live down the road from her mother Yolanda Hadid’s 18th century Pennsylvania farmhouse, and Gigi shared that her daughter takes just after her mom, as both of them love “to be outside after a long winter,” with Khai a fan of watching the trees and flowers bloom during their hikes.
She also shared that Zayn loves to sing Arabic nursery rhymes to their little girl, and that the family enjoy listening to Bollywood music.
The decision to share details of their lives comes after the pair had been notoriously private when it comes to their baby daughter, Khai. In a direct address to paparazzi, press and fan accounts, the supermodel mother asked for space and respect when it comes to photographing the family.
“As our baby grows up we have to realise that we can’t protect her from everything the way we wanted to and could when she was smaller,” Hadid wrote. The 26-year-old went on to explain that while Khai is able to see the world from outside the pram’s sunshade at the family’s farm, she’s unable to do so in New York City in a bid for privacy.
“I also want her to see the most amazing city in the world + the beautiful and diverse people that walk down the streets of NYC,” she continued. “That is, without the stress of the media circus that comes with parents being public figures.”
While some state laws in the US prevent media from posting children’s faces without consent or being blurred, Hadid asked members of the media to refrain from photographing Khai. If she is captured ,the model asks that her daughter’s face be blurred. She went on to thank the paparazzi that have kept their distance while she’s been spotted in NYC.
