Just two months after welcoming his youngest child into the world, Robert De Niro’s daughter, Drena De Niro has issued a heartbreaking announcement.
Drena is the oldest of De Niro’s seventh children. She made De Niro a grandfather 19 years ago when she welcomed a baby boy into the world.
Sadly, Drena has revealed on Instagram that her 19-year-old son, Leo, has passed away. His cause of death is not immediately known
“My beautiful sweet angel,” Drena began her statement. “I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly. You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life.”
“I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama,” the grieving mom continued. “You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you.”
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“I’m so sorry my baby, I’m so sorry. Rest in Peace and Eternal Paradise my darling boy,” Drena concluded the statement. On Monday, Robert also issued a statement to People, saying, “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo. We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, the actor announced he and martial arts instructor Tiffany Chen welcomed a child into the world in May 2023
While at the New York premiere for his new movie About My Father, De Niro addressed becoming a father at the age of 79, saying, “I’m okay with it. I’m good with it,” adding it “never gets easier.”
It was his co-star Kim Cattrall who confirmed Chen was the mother of Robert’s seventh child.
“I just had a baby,” De Niro revealed at the age of 79 after correcting the interviewer who asked him about being a father of six. And while De Niro dropped the major bombshell, he didn’t elaborate further.
In addition to Drena, 51, and his youngest child, De Niro is also a father to Raphael, 46, whom he also shares with his first wife, Diane Abbott. He has 27-year-old twin sons Julian and Aaron with his former girlfriend Toukie Smith. And he shares 24-year-old Elliot and 11-year-old Grace with his second wife Grace Hightower, who he divorced in 2018.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the De Niro family during this particularly tragic time.
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