Robert De Niro admits he doesn’t do the ‘heavy lifting’ of parenting his new baby

Robert De Niro, father of seven children ranging in age from a newborn to 52, is no stranger to fatherhood — he’s been a dad for more than half a century. But apparently, some people never really get the hang of it. The actor opened up about welcoming his newest daughter, Gia Virginia, who was born in April, and his comments reveal that he’s, shall we say, not exactly a hands-on dad.

De Niro welcomed Gia in April with his girlfriend, 45-year-old Tiffany Chen. In his recent interview with The Guardian, he said things are “going OK.”

“It doesn’t get easier,” he said about being a new parent again at the ripe old age of 80. “It is what it is. It’s okay. I mean, I don’t do the heavy lifting. I’m there, I support my girlfriend. But she does the work. And we have help, which is so important.”

Oof. Well, at least they have help. It’s good to know Chen isn’t having to do everything alone, because it sounds like De Niro isn’t doing a whole lot of anything this time around.

Asked whether he enjoys being a father, De Niro responded, “Of course I do,” and added that he enjoys “all of it,” though we can see why they asked that question, because his earlier comments sure do make it sound like he might like older kids better.

“With a baby it’s different [than] with my 11-year-old. My adult children. My grandchildren. It’s all different,” he explained. “Well, I don’t talk to the adult children the way I talk to my baby or the way I speak to my 11-year-old, though she’s pretty smart.”

De Niro and Chen met on the set of The Intern in 2015, and first sparked dating rumors in 2021, when they were spotted together on a PDA-filled date. In May, they confirmed to reporters that they had welcomed a child together.