Robert De Niro ‘Doesn’t Do the Heavy Lifting’ With New Baby
Robert De Niro "doesn't do the heavy lifting" when caring for his new baby daughter.
The 80-year-old Casino star became a father for the seventh time in April when his girlfriend Tiffany Chen, 45, gave birth to a little girl named Gia, and the actor has now admitted his younger partner does most of the "work" but he tries his best to support her.
He told the Guardian newspaper: "It [having children] doesn’t get easier. It is what it is. It’s OK. I mean, 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."
When asked if he enjoys fatherhood, the movie star replied: "Of course I do ... [I enjoy] all of it! 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 went on to talk about his hope for the future and insisted one of his ambitions is to "stay alive."
He added: "Of course I think about it [death], at my age ... It’s not going to stop me, but you think about it ... I’m aware of it. You think more about time. Every summer, every new season, everything, you say: ‘Well, I’m going to use these few months of the summer to be with my kids, my family.’ I can’t wait until the next – I don’t know what’s going to happen. So each thing becomes more important. Everything I do, time-wise, is important. Whatever I’m thinking about doing in two years, I’d better think about doing it now."
The Taxi Driver star introduced his daughter to the world on the show in May, where he revealed the tot's full name and confirmed she weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces when she was born on April 6 as he showed off a photo of her. When host Gayle King asked Robert if the baby was planned, he replied: “Yes, this baby was planned. We are over the moon. She was brought here by love.”