Irina Shayk Calls Ex Bradley Cooper the ‘Best Father’ to Daughter Lea: ‘We Make It Work’
Irina Shayk has nothing but love and praise for her ex Bradley Cooper — especially when it comes to his skills as a parent.
“He’s the best father Lea and I could dream of,” the model, 37, gushed in an interview with Elle published on Wednesday, November 8. “It always works, but it always works because we make it work.”
Between their busy schedules and not having a nanny’s help, Shayk noted that she and Cooper, 48, do their best to give daughter Lea De Seine, 6, a normal childhood. “We both take Lea everywhere with us,” she added. “She’s super easy. Two days ago, I had to go to the gym, so I just got her a drawing book and said, ‘Mama’s working out.’ She was drawing for an hour. Then we went to the Michael Kors fitting. She met all the girls. Michael gave her a bag. She drew him a kitty cat.”
Despite being a mother, Shayk noted that she’s “still the same person” she was before she welcomed Lea, joking, “Boy oh boy, can that girl get through caviar!”
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Shayk and Cooper welcomed their first and only child together two years into their relationship in March 2017. Although the pair sparked engagement rumors over the years, their romance came to an end after four years in July 2019. At the time of their split, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the duo would “coordinate to make sure their daughter is always with one parent,” adding, “When Lea has important events in her life, both Bradley and Irina will be there.”
Shayk later called her ex a “full-on, hands-on dad” in a September 2021 interview with Highsnobiety. “No nanny. Lea went on holiday with him for almost two weeks — I didn’t call them once,” she added.
In addition to remaining cordial coparents, the exes have also sparked reconciliation rumors. “Irina and Bradley have been getting more and more flirty with their correspondence and their time together,” another insider told Us in November 2022, noting that their friends “think they’ll get back together” down the line.
Despite the speculation — and a reunion inside the 2023 Met Gala in May — both Shayk and Cooper each moved on with new romantic partners. Cooper, for his part, was linked to Dianna Agron and Huma Abedin last year, while Shayk made headlines in July for her relationship with Tom Brady. A third source confirmed to Us last month that Shayk’s brief romance with the former NFL star, 46, “fizzled out.”
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During her relationship with Brady, Shayk posed for topless photos while on vacation with Cooper. Among her August Instagram Story uploads was also a pic of Cooper laying shirtless on a kayak. “Tom has no idea if Irina is still seeing Bradley, but it’s really none of his business,” a fourth insider told Us at the time. “Tom and Irina aren’t in a committed relationship, so she’s free to see anybody she likes.”
Later in her Wednesday Elle interview, Shayk seemingly dodged a question regarding her and Brady's current relationship status. “No comment,” she told the outlet. “I share my work stuff because I decided to keep my personal life personal. That’s why it’s called personal, because it’s something that belongs to me. If one day I feel like I want to share it, I will.”
