Naomi Watts is elated for former partner Liev Schreiber after he welcomed baby No. 1 with his wife, Taylor Neisen.
“So happy that Hazel Bee is finally here. She arrived early in the morning of August 27th and has been a dream every day since,” Schreiber, 55, captioned a Wednesday, September 13, Instagram photo of the newborn holding his thumb. “Mom and baby are both super happy and healthy. Thanks to all for the love and support.”
Watts, 54, took to the post’s comments section one day later to share her well wishes. “We love baby Hazel!! 🙌🙌🙌,” the Australian actress replied on Thursday, September 14.
The Ray Donovan alum and Neisen started dating in 2017. News swirled that the former pageant queen was pregnant with her first baby in April when she stepped out in New York City with a baby bump. Neisen confirmed her pregnancy via Instagram in August, uploading a pic of her growing belly next to her dog’s paw.
“My whole heart,” Neisen later wrote via Instagram on Thursday, sharing a pic of her infant daughter.
While Hazel is Schreiber’s first baby with Neisen, he and Watts share two children: Alexander “Sasha,” 15, and Kai, 14.
Watts and Schreiber were together between 2005 and 2016. After 11 years together, Us Weekly confirmed in September 2016 that they split.
“Over the past few months we’ve come to the conclusion that the best way forward for us as a family is to separate as a couple. It is with great love, respect and friendship in our hearts that we look forward to raising our children together and exploring this new phase of our relationship,” the now-exes told Us in a joint statement. “While we appreciate your curiosity and support, we ask the press to be mindful of our children and respect their right to privacy.”
Since ending their romance, Watts and Schreiber have remained dutiful coparents — and friends with each other’s new partners. (Watts married her Gypsy costar Billy Crudup in June at a NYC courthouse.)
“It’s always hard, you know? You build a life with someone and things change. And I think the way that we’ve looked at it is that we’ll always be partners and that’s what kind of keeps us together and keeps us amicable,” Schreiber said on Sunday Today With Willie Geist in January 2018. “But I think we’re more than that, I think we also genuinely really care about each other.”
He added at the time: “It’s important to support each other, you know? It’s really important. I was making some jokes this morning at breakfast about mommy with the boys, and their eyes light up when I talk about her. You can see how important it is to them that their parents care about each other and that no matter what happens, you continue to try and do that.”
