Bradley Cooper shared on a podcast that he was not sure he would 'be alive' if he was not a dad
Bradley Cooper is admitting that when his daughter was born, he was not sure how he felt about her.
He explained that before he and ex Irina Shayk welcomed their child in 2017, he had a difficult time understanding why parents would say "I would die in a second for my kid," adding, "If I'm being honest, the first eight months I don’t even know if I really love the kid."
Speaking on the "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" podcast about the first months of his daughter's life, Cooper said, "It’s dope. It’s cool. I’m watching this thing morph. Fascinated by it. Love taking care of it. Would I die if someone came in with a gun?"
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Bradley Cooper and daughter, Lea De Seine Shayk Cooper, 6, attended Netflix's "Maestro" Los Angeles premiere in December. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
He said it was "all of a sudden" that his feelings and perspective shifted, and then it was "like no question."
"I’m not sure I’d be alive if I wasn’t a dad," Cooper, who has previously been open about his battle with addiction, said. "I just needed someone to say, ‘We're gonna drop this massive anchor,' and I'm like, ‘Why? We're speeding. We just got an upgrade on the boat and I know where the wind is coming in.' And they're like, ‘No, there's a tsunami coming and you need an anchor and we're gonna drop it.' This is going to dictate everything you do from now on."
Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk were in a relationship for four years. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
He added, "Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you."
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Currently, Cooper is focused on providing the best life he can for Lea.
"I want her to have as much foundation as she can," the "Hangover" alum said. "I think about how my relationship with my daughter impacts her growth and the journey she's gonna be on."
The star also spoke about his habit of being naked at home. Host Dax Shepard said that his father was "always nude," so it is something he is used to.
Bradley Cooper said he is not sure if he would "be alive" if he was not a father. (Jamie McCarthy)
Shepard revealed he and wife, Kristin Bell, are "naked all the time" in their own home. Cooper admitted that he rarely saw his father naked, which is a different approach to his open bathroom door policy he runs in his own home.
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"I didn't grow up that way. At all. I don't think I ever saw my father on the toilet until he got sick. Like, ever in my life," Cooper said. He got used to being in the nude after living in smaller spaces in New York City.
Bradley Cooper said he was not sure if he "really loved" his daughter in the first few months following her birth in 2017. (Theo Wargo/WireImage)
"The bathtub and toilet and bed are all in the same room," he said. "The stairs go up and it's all one floor."
"We talk where I'm on the toilet, she's in the bathtub," Cooper said. "That's sort of the go-to.
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In his personal life, Cooper revealed on the podcast that he has been spending emotional quality time with a certain person.
"That person’s seen me cry — I’m not exaggerating — probably 150 times in the last year," Cooper shared.
Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper were seen on Feb. 27 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
Although he was very vague about who the "person" is, Cooper, 49, has been seen publicly spending time with model Gigi Hadid, 28, since October 2023.
Most recently, Cooper and Hadid were spotted gallivanting through New York City together on Tuesday.
Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
