Tiffany Chen, Robert De Niro’s girlfriend, found solace in their newborn baby, Gia Virginia, when she spoke about her postpartum struggles on daytime television.
The baby, born in April, was seen cooing alongside her mother in the arms of CBS Mornings host Gayle King, who was dressed in a frilly frock while the two ladies doted on her.
The 45-year-old did her first interview after giving birth to her daughter with the veteran actor.
She told Gayle that after giving birth, she lost all movement in her face and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, and she had a strong message for new mothers: “Women should not feel hurt by it.”
“It was like everything was starting to just fall down on itself,” she explained. “My face seemed to be dissolving in on itself. And then, a week after giving birth, it all came crashing down.”
Bell’s palsy is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis on one side or section of your face when one of the nerves that govern facial muscles stops working correctly or is injured.
Tiffany, a fitness teacher and martial arts enthusiast, spoke openly about her wonderful connection with Robert, revealing how he supported her during her health challenges.
“He tried to say he didn’t see any difference, that he didn’t see any change,” she explained. “He said, ‘No…. You look fine.’”
“And I was like, ‘Really?’ My entire face has dissolved in on itself. But he was powerful and supportive.”
She reported the acute pain she felt after giving birth via C-section and the sagging of her face, and was promptly readmitted to the hospital, where her lower lip drooped to the point of making it difficult for her to talk.
“It got to the point where it was just hanging, and I’d have to hold it up,” Tiffany said. “And to speak, I’d have to hold my chin and manipulate my lower lip to make certain sounds.” “I couldn’t even say ‘Bob.’”
What made it more difficult was not being able to lavish attention on newborn Gia as she desired, as she explained: “I couldn’t give her kisses. That’s what made me uncomfortable.”
“What I was concerned about was, ‘What if it didn’t get better?’ Was my child going to be teased for having a strange-looking mother? That’s the only time vanity enters the picture. It is the child’s reaction.”
She ended by claiming she was embracing life as a mother, saying her daughter “made life more fun” and that it enhanced her bond with the Oscar winner, who is also the father to Drena (51), Raphael (46), twins Julian and Aaron (27), Elliot (24), and Helen (11).