Robert De Niro, 81, says he doesn’t change daughter’s diapers after admitting he doesn’t ‘do the heavy lifting’
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Robert De Niro has admitted that there is one parenting chore he doesn’t participate in.
The 81-year-old recently opened up about what his life looks like with a one-year-old daughter named Gia, whom he shares with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen. Though the two of them share parenting duties, he admitted to not changing her diapers.
“No, no, but I used to,” the Taxi Driver actor told The Sunday Times about diaper-changing.
De Niro hastened to add that because he’s an “early riser,” he’s used the extra time to be with the 19-month-old.
“I spend my mornings watching [the YouTuber for toddlers] Ms Rachel with her, and I give her her bottle,” he said.
In addition to Gia, De Niro is the father of six other children from previous relationships. The actor and his first wife, Diahnne Abbott, share one daughter, Drena, 57, and one son, Raphael, 48. In 1995, he welcomed his twins, Julian and Aaron, 29, with ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith. He also shares his 26-year-old son, Elliot, and 12-year-old daughter, Helen Grace, with ex-wife Grace Hightower.
At one point during the interview, the Goodfellas actor was asked how all of his children would describe him as a father and parent and he answered that each of them would likely give a different answer.
“Oh God, they would all have a different answer. Family is so complex,” he said while adding that he hopes his children know that he tried his best.
“I try my best, that’s all. I hope they’ll be happy,” De Niro said.
This isn’t the first time The Irishman actor has spoken about Gia. Back in January 2024 during an interview with AARP, he said that “it feels great” to become a new father again at his age.
“Everything that I’m consumed with or worried about just goes away when I look at her. It’s wondrous,” De Niro said at the time. “When she gets older — who knows?”
Speaking to The Guardian in October 2023, he also praised his girlfriend for all the work she does raising their child. While confessing that fatherhood “doesn’t get easier,” after being a parent for quite some time, he said: “It is what it is. It’s okay. 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.”
