Gigi Hadid opens up about how Zayn Malik fits into her family and his relationship with baby Khai

Supermodel, activist and new mommy Gigi Hadid recently spoke to Harper's Bazaar spoke about her changing priorities, mental health, and how boyfriend Zayn Malik handles the Hadid clan while performing daddy duties.

The model, who gave birth to daughter Khai last September, and has since made headlines with sister Bella for openly voicing support for Palestine, revealed how she is the more practical and even-tempered one during family dinners. The younger Hadid sister is more emotional and compassionate, so where does that leave Malik when he attends?

According to Bazaar, Malik, Hadid says, has found a diplomatic way to navigate Hadid gatherings. "At first he was like, ‘How do I get a word in edgewise?’ But now he is very comfortable. He speaks his mind. When he’s in the middle of a family thing and everyone’s like, ‘Zayn, whose side are you on?’ He’s charming,” she said. “He’s usually on my mom's side,” she added. “So he's smart in that sense.”

With more than 67 million followers on Instagram, model of the year awards, innumerable magazine covers globally, brand collaborations, and high-fashion campaigns, having opened and closed runway shows for Versace, Chanel, and Tom Ford among others, Gigi’s rise to stardom since 2014 and gained her many, many fans. People might not realise she is actually a very private person, especially when it comes to her baby.

Nowadays, Hadid, Malik, and Khai spend time going on short hikes in the woods or listening to Bollywood music or singing an Arabic nursery rhyme Khai enjoys.

“She loves the birds, the animals,” Hadid said. “It’s nice to be outside after a long winter.” The couple have also taken Khai to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History in New York where she stared at the dinosaur displays.

According to the supermodel, it was Malik who noticed her daughter's keen enthusiasm for their television's screen saver, which was a jellyfish.

“Zayn had the idea, he’s like, ‘We should take her to the aquarium.’" she revealed. "Those umbrella-shaped marine animals were Khai’s favourite in real life as well," she added, hoping that one day Khai could ride horses like her mother as well.