Everything Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik Have Said About Parenthood and Raising Baby Khai

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Everything Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik Have Said About Parenthood and Raising Baby Khai

Keeping up with Khai! Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik have said the sweetest things about their daughter since her September 2020 arrival. The couple have been dating on and off since 2015. News broke five years later that the model was pregnant with their first child. The Los Angeles native confirmed the news in April 2020 during a Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon appearance. “Obviously, we wish we could’ve announced it on our own terms, but we’re very excited and happy and grateful for everyone’s well wishes and support,” Hadid told Jimmy Fallon at the time. The then-pregnant star went on to say that she was “craving … everything bagels” and eating one a day. The former One Direction member was “thrilled” about becoming a father, a source exclusively told Us Weekly the following month. "Zayn has always been so into Gigi and she’s always been such a big part of his life,” the insider said in May 2020. "Even when there were times that they weren’t a couple, the love was still very much there.” As for Hadid, another source told Us at the time: "She’s so excited to be a mom and so happy to be pregnant and to be embarking on the new journey of motherhood, especially with Zayn by her side.” [jwplayer tCqJHEe7-zhNYySv2] While the Victoria's Secret model kept her baby bump hidden at first, she began documenting her progress in August 2020. “Growing an angel,” Hadid captioned maternity shoot photos at the time. "Cherishing this time. Appreciate all the love & well wishes. Will never forget creating these special images.” She later tweeted, “I loved [modeling while pregnant]. I knew what I wanted from the pics and Gab and L&I really made it happen for me but was definitely more tiring than working normally. Got through the second look and was like, 'Guys I think I can only do two more’ hahaaaa.” Her and the “Pillow Talk” singer’s baby girl arrived the following month. The new parents waited until January 2021 to subtly reveal Khai’s name in Hadid’s Instagram bio. Keep scrolling to read Hadid and the X Factor alum's best quotes about raising their daughter, from having a home birth to asking other celebs for advice.

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Welcome Home

"Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she’s already changed our world," the new mom captioned Khai's Instagram debut in September 2020. "So in love."

Her boyfriend added in a post of his own: "Our baby girl is here, healthy and beautiful. … The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine and thankful for the life we will have together."

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Too Cute

The designer called Khai "the best kid" in January 2021.

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Home Birth

"I probably looked crazy, actually,” Hadid told Vogue in February 2021. “I was an animal woman. … What I really wanted from my experience was to feel like, OK, this is a natural thing that women are meant to do. I had to dig deep. I knew it was going to be the craziest pain in my life, but you have to surrender to it and be like, ‘This is what it is.’ I loved that. There definitely was a point where I was like, 'I wonder what it would be like with an epidural, how it would be different.'"

She noted that Malik caught Khai, saying, “It didn’t even click that she was out. I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he’s holding her. It was so cute.”

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Singing Her Praises

The songwriter praised Hadid's "wicked" motherhood skills, telling iHeart Radio's Valentine in the Morning in March 2021, "Obviously, she’s a really big help with everything, and she’s doing well. ... It's been really easy for me and Gigi to kind of just ease into it. [Khai] kind of made it easy for us, she sleeps really well, she loves her milk. It's just feeding and changing diapers at the moment."

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Tips and Tricks

"I think I’ll teach Khai to keep it simple when it comes to makeup, like my mom taught me," Hadid told Harper's Bazaar in June 2021, noting that "less is more."

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Father’s Day

Hadid wished Malik a happy Father's Day in June 2021 via Instagram, writing, "Our Khai is so lucky to have a baba who loves her so much and does anything to see her smile ! @zayn happy first Father’s Day. I’m so grateful for all the lil bits of her that are you. We love you so much."

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Written Word

"During my pregnancy, I had one journal that I called my good journal and one journal that I called my bad journal,” the model told Harper’s Bazaar in July 2021. "They weren’t that literal, but one was more for the memories, for Khai. Maybe one day I’ll give her the bad journal just to be real about it. [It has my] anxieties and days where I felt like, 'Am I good enough to be a mom?' I didn’t want to feel guilty about feeling those things or writing those things down. I just liked the separation."

Credit: Courtesy Zayn Malik/Instagram

Loving Lyrics

The former boyband member called himself "zaddy" in a leaked song, "Yellow Tape," which hit the internet in September 2021.

Credit: Courtesy of Zayn Malik/Instagram

Keeping Things Private

"As you all know I am a private person and I very much want to create a safe and private space for my daughter to grow up in," the X Factor UK alum tweeted in October 2021, shortly after reports surfaced that he got into an alleged altercation with Yolanda Hadid. "In an effort to protect that space for her, I agreed to not contest claims arising from an argument I had with a family member of my partner's who entered our home while my partner was away several weeks ago."

Malik concluded his statement, "This was and still should be a private matter but it seems for now there is divisiveness and despite my efforts to restore us to a peaceful family environment that will allow for me to coparent my daughter in a manner in which she deserves, this has been 'leaked' to the press. I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.”

The former One Direction singer later denied “striking” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum while speaking with TMZ, telling the outlet, “For the sake of my daughter I decline to give any further details and I hope that Yolanda will reconsider her false allegations and move towards healing these family issues in private."

Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Winding Down

"I'm trying to learn still, being a mom and letting myself rest," Hadid told InStyle in February 2022 of working motherhood.

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Baby Genius

“I think she's a genius,” Hadid gushed to Willie Geist in September 2022. “But I think that's what everyone says about their kid. It's so much fun. The more that she talks, and understands, and remembers, it just gets more and more fun. And she's a blessing.”

Credit: Courtesy of Gigi Hadid/Instagram

Mom Routine

The designer detailed her “mom morning routine” in a January 2023 interview for WSJ. Magazine’s 2023 Women’s Spring Fashion Issue. She noted that her daughter serves as an alarm clock. “Whatever time she’s waking up, I’m waking up,” she explained.

Hadid further explained that both her breakfast and exercise routines revolve around her toddler. "I eat whatever Khai’s having,” she said. “I make her pancakes and sausages every day.”

The California native joked that “running after” her little one was all the exercise she needed. “We walk a lot. We do yoga together,” Hadid continued. “With lifting her and running around all day and going to the park, I get moving.”

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British Baby

Hadid spoke to London's Sunday Times about “the little bits” of Khai that are British, just like Malik. “She’s clearly a child who was grown in my stomach eating a lot of British food — breakfast, beans, curries. And she still eats like that," she said in March 2023. "She even says some words with a little [English] accent, which I love.”