Gigi Hadid gave her first interview since ex Zayn Malik was charged with four counts of domestic violence.
The 26-year-old sat down with InStyle magazine about her rollercoaster of a year and how it inspired her to simplify her life.
“When I think of my childhood, I think of the crazy, ecstatic volleyball player. I was that loud voice. I loved sports, I loved being on a team,” she said of her younger years. “That’s what comes naturally to me.”
Gigi, along with her siblings Bella and Anwar — grew up in Santa Barbara and later moved to Beverly Hills. They are the children of the luxury real-estate developer Mohamed Hadid and reality star and model, Yolanda Hadid.
Yolanda joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2012 and later stepped away from the show in 2016. Occasionally, Gigi, Bella, and Anwar — who were teenagers at the time — would make appearances on the series.
Hadid spoke on the misconceptions that came with being the child of a reality star as well as how her own mother’s lifestyle influenced her own perspective as she cut her teeth in the modeling industry.
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“When people first started to get to know me, it was like, ‘Oh, her mom was on [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]. That is her life.’ But that wasn’t my life or a part of my growing up,” she said.
“My mom wasn’t on TV until I was a senior in high school, so I was just on my way out of the house. But it was weird for me,” she explained. “I would come home from school and there would be production trucks outside.”
And while she initially mirrored her mother’s openness, she realized in time it made her to susceptible to the world.
“I’ve always been very trusting, and like a lot of people, I learned the hard way in this industry by being too open in interviews,” she revealed. “You have to start to calculate your steps because you went for it with an open heart, and sometimes it doesn’t get portrayed that way.”
This is why Gigi currently is very private about her life, including her pregnancy in 2020 with her former partner Zayn. The two share a 16-month-old daughter, Khai, and currently, refrain from showing their child’s face on social media.
When asked about her approach to her private lifestyle, Gigi stated that “traumatic experiences” have driven her toward a more “scaled back” lifestyle.
“In part, yes, I have scaled back. But in the moments when you’re face-to-face with people, you still have to be open,” she said, referencing her past mistakes of being “too open” in interviews.
“You’re only going to have a human experience if you’re fully in the moment. You try not to have those weird voices in your head that come from traumatic experiences,” she added.
And when it comes to balancing her career and being a mother, she admits she is still finding her footing.
“Well, I’m trying to learn still, being a mom and letting myself rest. Maybe I’m better at it with work,” she said, before gushing about her daughter.
“She’s just so smart, and she’s so aware. She watches everything, she’s always learning, she’s always looking. She’s just awesome,” she said.