She gave birth to her daughter Khai with Zayn Malik in September.
And new mother Gigi Hadid has admitted she struggled to hide her pregnancy at the height of Fashion Week despite suffering with nausea and tryig to ‘pretend it wasn’t happening’.
Speaking to i-D and posing for a stylistic shoot, the model, 26, touched upon navigating her Dutch-Palestinian heritage.
Candid: Gigi Hadid, 26, has admitted that she struggled to hide her pregnancy during Fashion Month last year
Gigi confirmed she was expecting her first child with the former One Direction star at the beginning of lockdown in April as she appeared on The Tonight show.
But, before her pregnancy was common knowledge, she explained she battled to keep it a secret as she modelled during Fashion Month.
‘It obviously felt weird during Fashion Month when I secretly felt so sick at work but you can’t take a sick day during fashion week! I just had to pretend it wasn’t happening,’ she said.
The model, whose mother Yolanda is Dutch and father Mohamed is Palestinian, also spoke about her journey with understanding her heritage and trying to ‘figure out’ where she ‘fit in racially’.
Hard: Despite suffering with nausea during the event, the model revealed she ‘pretended it wasn’t happening’ after learning she was expecting at the height of the Fashion season
Impressive: Touching on her experiences, she said: ‘It obviously felt weird during Fashion Month when I secretly felt so sick at work but you can’t take a sick day during fashion week’
Conscious: Gigi, who shares her daughter with singer Zayn Malik, said as parents they discuss their heritage a lot
Important: As the first generation of those mixed races in their family she explained she soon realised they are ‘the bridge’ between the two
She said: ‘We think about it and talk about it a lot as partners and it’s something that’s really important to us but it’s also something that we first experienced ourselves. Because both of our parents are their own heritage.’
As the first generation of those mixed races in their family she explained she soon realised they are ‘the bridge’ between the two.
‘That’s not something that my parents experienced or that they can really help me through. It’s something I’ve always thought about my whole life.
Sweet: The model, whose mother Yolanda is Dutch (pictured together) and father Mohamed is Palestinian, also spoke about her journey with understanding her heritage
Heritage: Gigi explained she is still trying to ‘figure out’ where she ‘fits in racially’ (pictured with her father)
‘In certain situations, I feel – or I’m made to feel – that I’m too white to stand up for part of my Arab heritage.
‘You go through life trying to figure out where you fit in racially. Is what I am, or what I have, enough to do what I feel is right?
‘But then, also, is that taking advantage of the privilege of having the whiteness within me, right? Am I allowed to speak for this side of me, or is that speaking on something that I don’t experience enough to know?’
Gigi and Zayn, 28, welcomed Khai — whose name was coyly revealed on Instagram months later — last September via home birth.
Milestone: Gigi recently celebrated her first Mother’s Day in which she called being a mom her ‘greatest pride & joy,’ and ‘purpose’
‘It didn’t even click that she was out,’ Gigi said in a Vogue interview. ‘I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he’s holding her. It was so cute,’ she said of Zayn catching the baby.
And as they continue to split time between Pennsylvania and their apartment in NYC, the pair have continued to have lots of space to grow as a family.
It comes as Gigi and her nine-month-old basked by the pool in mommy-and-me style bathing suits in a sweet trio of snaps shared to Instagram.
Fresh from a dip at mom Yolanda Hadid’s Pennsylvania farm, Gigi captioned the series: ‘inhale summer,’ additionally revealing that seeing the matching suits brought her ‘actual TEARS.’
The New Worldwi-De Issue will be available on global newsstands from 16th June and a new i-D Summer cover will be dropping online on i-D everyday this week
The supermodel rocked a two-toned green checkered bikini from Frankie’s Bikinis which also fashioned Khai a matching frilled one-piece.
In one snap, she was seen cradling her daughter who looked to be getting her bearings in the water.
And in another, Gigi showed off wet tresses tucked back in a bun and a beaded necklace, as she cooled off with a swim session.
A third snap featured Khai sitting up by herself on a striped towel while wearing the custom swimsuit, which Gigi said brought ‘actual tears’ to her eyes.
On her insta-story she posted a photo of the custom matching suits as she thanked designer Francesca Aiello — her former Malibu High School colleague who has been romantically linked on and off to NBA star Blake Griffin.
Gigi recently celebrated her first Mother’s Day in which she called being a mom her ‘greatest pride & joy,’ and ‘purpose.’
‘I feel so lucky and inspired bein your mama, my Khai !! An old soul full of sunshine, you light up everyone’s days! Thank you!,’ she added.
The New Worldwi-De Issue will be available on global newsstands from 16th June and a new i-D Summer cover will be dropping online on i-D everyday this week.
Baby on board: The covergirl welcomed her daughter last September via home birth; pictured August 2020