Despite being 81 years old, De Niro has embraced fatherhood yet again. He previously shared with People that when he looks at Gia, “everything else goes away.”
In an interview with The Times, De Niro, known for his role in Cape Fear, mentioned that he is an ‘early riser’ and spends mornings with Gia, who is now 19 months old.
He takes care of giving her a bottle and strives to do his ‘best’ in his parenting role.
When questioned about how his children might describe him, De Niro said: “Oh God, they would all have a different answer. Family is so complex… I hope they’ll be happy.”
A part of entertaining Gia involves watching YouTuber Ms Rachel, known for creating educational content for children. De Niro joins his daughter to watch the content but steps back when it comes to changing diapers.
When asked about diaper duties, De Niro admitted: “No, no, but I used to.”
This revelation follows his previous comments to The Guardian, where he said that parenting ‘doesn’t get easier’ with time.
He noted that Chen manages much of the daily parenting tasks, but they also have assistance with their daughter.
He commented: “I don’t do the heavy lifting. I’m there, I support my girlfriend. But she does the work. And we have help, which is so important.”
With children ranging in age from 57 years to 19 months, De Niro expressed that he enjoys ‘all’ aspects of being a father.
He told The Guardian: “With a baby it’s different to with my 11-year-old. My adult children. My grandchildren. It’s all different […] I don’t talk to the adult children the way I talk to my baby, or the way I speak to my 11-year-old, though she’s pretty smart.”
De Niro’s journey into fatherhood began when he adopted his eldest daughter, Drena, through his marriage to Diahnne Abbott in 1976. The couple also had a son, Raphael.
After divorcing Abbott, De Niro had twin sons, Julian and Aaron, via surrogate with partner Toukie Smith.
He later married Grace Hightower, and they had a son, Elliot, and a daughter, Helen.
After separating from Hightower in 2018, De Niro started dating Chen, who he met on the set of his 2015 film The Intern.