How Welcoming Daughter Khai ‘Shifted My Life’ MGG

A whole new world! Gigi Hadid gave a rare glimpse of how her life has changed since welcoming daughter Khai.

The 27-year-old model gave birth to her first child with now-ex Zayn Malik in September 2020, five months after news broke of her pregnancy. Hadid reflected on her path to motherhood during an eye-opening interview with Elle published on Wednesday, February 15.

“I got pregnant [during the coronavirus pandemic] and I really started to think about what I wanted after, when the world opened back up,” she told the outlet, recalling how she was inspired to launch her knitwear brand, Guest In Residence. “It kept coming back to just a more stabilized schedule where I’m not in a different country every week.”

The California native wanted to balance building her fashion empire with raising her little girl. “This is very stabilizing,” she said. “I have an office that I come to. I know everyone here. I don’t have to look a certain way to show up. It’s a different experience for me, and it was the right time because I was ready for that.”

Hadid has kept Khai relatively out of the spotlight, rarely sharing photos of the toddler via social media. Being a parent has helped her feel more comfortable with “setting boundaries” when necessary.

“[Khai] obviously sees me in every state and way, and whether she knows it or not, I’m going through and learning through life with her,” the Next In Fashion cohost told the magazine. “I think that she has a really realistic kind of 24/7, around-the-clock view. We’re up chatting in the middle of the night if she’s up; we’re talking about, I don’t know, random stuff, but it’s fun.”

Watching her little one grow has also helped Hadid paint a more clear picture of what she wants in the future. “Having a daughter, although it shifted my life to make me really want to feel more settled, has also really made me appreciate the chaos as well,” she said. “Being at shows and shoots and just being in the city again; being around friends [after] becoming a mom, with everyone also coming out of COVID — I have an appreciation for both sides of it.”

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum sparked an on-off romance with Malik, 30, in 2015. Us Weekly confirmed in October 2021 that the twosome “silently separated” amid tension between the former One Direction member and Yolanda Hadid. After allegedly getting into an altercation with Gigi’s mother, 59, Malik was charged with four criminal offenses of harassment. (He initially denied “striking” the Bravo alum in a statement to TMZ.)

At the time, a spokesperson told Us that Gigi wanted “privacy” as her family navigated the situation, adding: “Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai.”

Malik was put on a 90-day probation for each of his four counts, totaling 360 days. The “Dusk Till Dawn” artist was also ordered to complete an anger management class and a domestic violence program and was instructed not to contact Yolanda.

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One year after the drama went down, a source exclusively told Us that Gigi and the British singer were making strides in their coparenting relationship. “Gigi has her walls up since she’s on better terms with Zayn,” the insider revealed in October 2022, adding that the exes were “doing well” when it came to raising Khai.