Gigi Hadid looking forward to having mixed race conversation with daughter

Gigi Hadid is looking forward to talking to her baby daughter about her heritage and hopes she has an easier time growing up with Arabic roots than she did.

The 26 year old, who is the daughter of businessman Mohamed Hadid and Dutch model Yolanda van den Herik, has opened up about parenting with boyfriend Zayn Malik in the new issue of i-D and is determined to make sure Khai doesn't have the conflicts she had as a teenager.

"Because both of our (herself and Malik) parents are their own heritage, we are that first generation of those mixed races, and then that comes with that first generational experience of being like, 'Oh d**n, I'm the bridge!'. That’s not something that my parents experienced or that they can really help me through. It's something I’ve always thought about my whole life," she explained in the interview.

"In certain situations, I feel - or I’m made to feel - that I’m too white to stand up for part of my Arab heritage... You go through life trying to figure out where you fit in racially...

"I think that Khai will grow up feeling out the way that she can or wants to be a bridge for her different ethnicities. But I think that it will be nice to be able to have those conversations, and see where she comes from, without us putting that onto her. What comes from her is what I’m most excited about, and being able to add to that or answer her questions, you know?"

Gigi also opened up about the "silver lining" of becoming a mum during the Covid-19 lockdown last year, as she was able to spend time out of the spotlight and focus on Khai.

"I got to experience pregnancy and giving birth and being with my baby, and it was a reset that I would have had to make for myself, regardless," she explained. "It really gave me time to experience motherhood the way I wanted to, which was without a baby nurse and without a nanny for as long as I could before I went back to work."