While reflecting on the early days of parenting, Bradley Cooper opened up about not knowing if he really loved his daughter, Lea, when she was a newborn.
During his appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast earlier this week, the Hangover star became very honest about his development as a father since his daughter was born in March 2017.
“I would die in a second for my kid,” he said. “The first eight months — I don’t even know if I really love the kid. It’s dope. It’s cool. I’m watching this thing morph.”
Bradley Cooper went on to say that the feelings were just his experience. “Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if someone came in with a gun?” he asked.
The actor admitted he wasn’t sure if he really loved Lea during the first year. “And then all of a sudden, it’s like no question.”
Cooper pointed out that since his daughter’s first year, he has strived to become a better person for her. His goal was to do the “least amount of damage” to his daughter.
“I’m not sure I’d be alive if I wasn’t a dad,” he admitted. “I just needed someone to say, like, ‘We’re gonna drop this massive anchor.’ I’m like, ‘Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in.'”
“They’re like, ‘No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor and we’re gonna drop it. Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on. Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you.”
Bradley Cooper shares Lea with his former partner, Irina Shayk. The former couple were on and off for a few years before ending things in 2019. He’s now dating Gigi Hadid.
Irina Shayk Recently Discussed How She and Bradley Cooper Co-Parent Their Daughter Lea
During a Nov. 2023 interview with Elle, Irina Shayk opened up about how she and her ex-partner, Bradley Cooper, co-parent their 6-year-old daughter Lea.
“We both take Lea everywhere with us. She’s super easy,” Shayk explained. “We always find a way. He’s the best father Lea and I could dream of. It always works, but it always works because we make it work.”
Shayk also spoke about how Lea is growing up in a completely different environment than she did.
“She lives in the West Village. She went to all these countries in two months. But we want her to know the value of stuff. We want to show our daughter: ‘You have to work hard to get something.’”