All About Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik's Daughter Khai

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik welcomed their daughter, Khai, in September 2020

Throughout all the highs and lows, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are committed to being the best parents to their daughter, Khai Hadid Malik.

After dating on and off since 2016, Hadid confirmed she was expecting a child with the former One Direction singer during an April 2020 interview with Jimmy Fallon. In September 2020, the couple welcomed their daughter via natural home birth, later sharing that her name was Khai.

Though Hadid and Malik split in October 2021 following an alleged altercation with Hadid's mother, Yolanda, they remain dedicated to raising Khai together and have fallen naturally into their roles as parents.

"It's been really easy for me and Gigi to kind of just ease into it, I guess," Malik said of fatherhood in a March 2021 interview on HeartRadio's Valentine in the Morning. "[Khai has] kind of made it easy for us."

While chatting with The Sunday Times in March 2023, Hadid gushed about her daughter and shared that she's "so glad to be a young mom." The model went on to add that she tries to schedule work obligations when Khai is with Malik. "That she can be with both parents makes me very happy," Hadid said.

Keep reading for everything to know about Hadid and Malik's daughter, Khai.

Hadid was careful about sharing her pregnancy on social media

During an Instagram live in July 2020, Hadid showed her baby bump and explained why she hadn't shared much about her pregnancy online. In light of events like the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic, the model said that she felt like her journey to motherhood was "not the most important thing going on in the world."

She added, however, that she had been sharing plenty of bump photos with friends and family. " ... It's been really cute and exciting and I'm trying to document it well because I've heard a lot of people say obviously, 'make sure you don't miss it,' " Hadid said.

During a Twitter Q&A in January 2021, the supermodel opened up about her pregnancy journey, saying that she found out she was pregnant the day before the Tom Ford show during Paris Fashion Week.

"I was so nauseous backstage 😅 but I learned I could kinda control it if I continuously ate, so my mom would pack me snacks before each show 🥖 🧀 bless," she wrote.

She was born on Sept. 19, 2020

Khai was born on Sept. 19, 2020. Hadid and Malik announced the birth of their daughter a few days later on Sept. 23.

"Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful," Malik wrote on Twitter, alongside a black-and-white photo of his newborn's hand grasping his thumb.

Later that day, Hadid shared a different black-and-white image of Malik and their daughter holding hands on Instagram.

"Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she's already changed our world. So in love🥺💕," the new mom wrote.

In January 2021, Hadid revealed her daughter's name by subtly updating her Instagram bio to include "khai's mom."

When she turned 3 years old, Hadid celebrated with a sweet Instagram carousel of what she and Khai had been up to for her birthday week. "Have been celebrating our THREE YR OLD this week 🌞🌈⚡️🌻 & just so honored to get to be her mama, to get to see life through her !!!! Happy Birthday to my sweetest, smartest, spunkiest bestie !!!!!!!! 💓 DREAM KID / love of my life🦄🦄🦄," she wrote in the caption.

Hadid had an unmedicated home birth

In an interview for Vogue's March 2021 issue, Hadid shared that she welcomed Khai at home to avoid a hospital birth during the height of the pandemic. Surrounded by Malik, her mom Yolanda, sister Bella, a midwife and her assistant, Hadid gave birth in an inflatable bath that was set up in her bedroom.

She recalled feeling like an "animal woman" during the experience, saying that she had to "dig deep" to get through the pain.

"There definitely was a point where I was like, 'I wonder what it would be like with an epidural, how it would be different,' " Hadid said. "My midwife looked at me and was like, 'You're doing it. No one can help you. You're past the point of the epidural anyway, so you'd be pushing exactly the same way in a hospital bed.' "

Hadid also revealed that Malik was the one to catch Khai when she was finally born. "It didn't even click that she was out," the model said. "I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he's holding her. It was so cute."

Hadid and Malik have been co-parenting Khai since their split in October 2021

Following a dispute between Malik and Hadid's mother, Yolanda, in which he allegedly shoved her, the couple officially called it quits in October 2021. "They are not together right now. They are both good parents though," a Hadid family friend told PEOPLE. "They co-parent."

"Gigi is solely focused on the best for Khai. She asks for privacy during this time," her rep told PEOPLE in a statement.

In November 2021, a source told PEOPLE that while things were still tense between Yolanda and Malik, Hadid was determined to come to a peaceful co-parenting arrangement for their daughter's sake.

"Yolanda is very upset with Zayn, but Gigi has made it clear that her daughter needs her dad," the source said. "Gigi will do everything she can to make sure they co-parent in a civil way."

She has a special bond with her aunt, Bella Hadid

Bella Hadid is a proud aunt. The supermodel has shared several sweet moments with Khai on social media, showcasing their special bond.

For Khai's first birthday in 2021, Bella shared a gallery of photos featuring her niece, writing, "Happy Birthday to the greatest gift our family has ever been blessed with…. I didn't know my heart could grow this big!!!! You make me smile when I'm sad and make me cry of happiness just because ur alive."

Hadid clearly appreciates her sister's role as aunt, too. In July 2021, she posted a "photo dump" that included a photo of Bella holding Khai up while standing in front of a window overlooking the New York City skyline. For Bella's 25th birthday that October, Hadid called her sister Khai's "forever protector" in a heartfelt Instagram tribute.

Bella returned the love to Hadid, praising her sister's ability to work and be a mom in a Feb. 27, 2023, Instagram Story.

She posted a promo shot for season 2 of Gigi's Netflix show, Next in Fashion, writing that she was proud of her sister and adding, "So much hard work put into this, while raising a daughter with ease!!...what a blessing to watch !!!"

She's growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania

While they still spend considerable time in N.Y.C., Hadid and Malik primarily raise their daughter on the Pennsylvania farm the model shares with her sister Bella. In Hadid's March 2021 Vogue cover story, she shared that ranch life is where she feels "happiest."

"I think she'll definitely be raised here," she said of Khai. "The greenery and the farm-y lifestyle are similar to what made me feel really centered as a kid, and I think that's really important to Zayn and me."

Hadid has shared snippets of her family's life on the farm, from picking vegetables in the garden to carrying Khai out to the land where her horses roam.

In July 2023, Hadid shared more photos on Instagram of their outdoorsy lifestyle, including a snap of herself tending to horses and pictures of the mother-daughter duo picking blueberries. "Best of summer ! 🙏💌🪴🍦," she captioned the post.

Hadid thinks her daughter is a "genius"

Like most moms, Hadid thinks her child is a genius. In June 2021, when Khai was 9 months old, the supermodel joked with Access Hollywood about how she, at times, is certain that her daughter is the "most genius" baby.

"The highlight is, I would say, the most simple things," Hadid said. "Just seeing her learn something new every day, even if it's like picking up a cup or putting a ball in a hole. You just think they're the best, most genius thing that's ever been born. Yeah, just the small things, I would say."

Hadid asked the paparazzi to blur Khai's face in pictures

To protect her daughter's privacy, Hadid penned an open letter to "paparazzi, press and beloved fan accounts," asking them to blur Khai's face in any images that may circulate.

"As our baby grows up we have to realize that we can't protect her from everything the way we wanted to and could when she was smaller," she wrote in the note, which was shared on her Instagram Story in July 2021.

Hadid shared that while taking her daughter out for walks in her stroller in N.Y.C., Khai had started wanting the sun shade lifted up and "helps herself to it," making it harder to ensure her privacy.

"She doesn't understand why she's covered in the city, or what I've wanted to protect her from," Hadid said. "I also want her to see the most amazing city in the world + the beautiful and diverse people that walk down the streets of NYC … that is, without the stress of the media circus that comes with parents who are public figures."

She then pleaded: "Our wish is that she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age, and that she can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen. It would mean the world to us, as we take our daughter to see and explore NYC and the world, if you would PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE blur her face out of the images, if and when she is caught on camera."

She inspired Hadid to change her lifestyle

Hadid spoke about her daughter in Elle's March 2023 issue, explaining that her pandemic pregnancy inspired her to live her life differently.

"I got pregnant and I really started to think about what I wanted after, when the world opened back up. It kept coming back to just a more stabilized schedule where I'm not in a different country every week," the model said.

"I have an office that I come to. I know everyone here. I don't have to look a certain way to show up. It's a different experience for me, and it was the right time because I was ready for that," she shared of her work environment for her clothing line, Guest in Residence.

"Having a daughter, although it shifted my life to make me really want to feel more settled, has also really made me appreciate the chaos as well," she added. "Being at shows and shoots and just being in the city again; being around friends [after] becoming a mom, with everyone also coming out of COVID — I have an appreciation for both sides of it."

She brought "color" back into Malik's life

During an interview with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Malik opened up about fatherhood.

"I feel like we get to a certain point in adult life where everything is kind of vague and grey and boring, and she's brought that color back for me," he said, adding that his main objective since Khai's birth has been to be "a good example to her."

Malik also spoke about how the little girl inspired him to speak publicly after years of avoiding the spotlight.

"Since I've had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example to her," he explained. "That's why I'm even doing this interview, you know? I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this. And I want her to be able to look at me and be like, 'My dad's doing this.' "

Malik says she has a "natural ability" for singing

Khai is taking after her "Baba" in the music department. During an interview with L'Officiel in March 2024, the One Direction alum shared that his daughter has a "natural ability" for singing.

"I know, it sounds ridiculous because she's 3, but her retention for language, especially when it's formatted in a music sense to her, has been amazing," he told the outlet. "She'll remember every lyric of every song that she likes. She remembers chord progressions and notes. She can do runs that have, like, three, four notes."

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