During an interview with ET Canada, Robert De Niro revealed that he had welcomed a new baby into his family.
When asked about being a father of six, the Godfather actor corrected the interviewer and said he actually had seven children.
He did not disclose the gender or name of the new addition. This announcement was made earlier this week.
Confirming his recent announcement, the 79-year-old Academy Award-winning actor declared, “I just had a baby.”
However, he did not disclose any information about the baby’s mother. Reports suggest that his last known relationship was with a martial arts instructor named Tiffany Chen, with whom he was seen holding hands in July 2022.
In March of this year, she was also photographed leaving a restaurant with a visible baby bump. According to DailyMail.com, De Niro’s representative has verified that the actor has indeed welcomed a seventh child into his family.
During promotion of his latest film, About My Father, this week, Robert De Niro was interviewed by ET Canada.
The interviewer inquired about his parenting style and the actor responded by stating that he believes in being loving towards his children, but also believes in being firm when necessary.
He added that laying down the law is sometimes unavoidable. Despite wanting to do right by his children, he admitted that it’s not always possible.
When the interviewer mentioned that he had six children, De Niro corrected them and revealed that he actually has seven, before announcing that he had recently become a father again.
De Niro was last seen publicly with martial arts instructor Tiffany Chen on March 22, leaving a restaurant in Santa Monica, California after having dinner with Harvey Keitel and Billy Crystal.
Photographs from the outing showed Chen with a baby bump, sparking rumors of a pregnancy. De Niro’s ex-wife, Grace Hightower, whom he was married to for 20 years, is the mother of two of his children.
Robert De Niro has four children from his previous relationships and two from his 20-year marriage to Grace Hightower. With ex-wife Diahnne Abbott, he has a son named Raphael, aged 46, and a daughter named Drena, aged 51. With Hightower, he has a son named Elliot, aged 25, and a daughter named Helen, aged 11. Additionally, he has twin sons named Aaron and Julian, aged 27, from his former girlfriend, Toukie Smith.
De Niro’s divorce from Hightower has been a highly contested affair since 2018. In April, a judge ruled that Hightower should receive $1 million annually, and the couple will split the proceeds from the sale of their $20 million home. Although they were married in 1997 and split in 1999, they renewed their vows in 2004 before De Niro filed for divorce again in 2018. Initially, the dispute was over custody of their child, but now the contention is over money and property.
Hightower’s average monthly spending was $215,000 on credit cards and $160,000 in cash, which De Niro’s attorney, Caroline Krauss, claims has led to financial strain on the actor, causing him to run out of money.
The Hollywood star’s work projects dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to her statement. Several months prior, De Niro had earned $5 million for his role in Martin Scorsese’s successful film, The Irishman, and also received “tens of millions of dollars” from a federal coronavirus relief program. Although Hightower claims that De Niro’s net worth is $500 million, his attorney Caroline Krauss suggests that his estranged wife’s lavish lifestyle is exacerbating the situation.
In 2018, De Niro acknowledged that he and Hightower were going through a challenging but constructive transitional phase in their relationship, as they continue to co-parent their two children. He praised Hightower as an excellent mother and requested privacy and respect from all parties involved.
Five months ago, De Niro had a frightening experience when a serial burglar allegedly attempted to steal presents from under his Christmas tree at his Upper East Side rented townhouse, which cost $69,000 per month. When the police arrived and arrested the suspect, De Niro was in his bathrobe and ran downstairs but did not confront the burglar.
When questioned by reporters from the New York Post, De Niro indicated that he was coping well and left the property soon after. His daughter Helen, whom he shares with his ex-wife Hightower, was also present during the incident and was asleep in another bedroom.