Billy Crystal Reveals What He Really Thinks About Robert De Niro Having A Baby At 79

The Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, who is set to turn 80 in August, shocked the world earlier this week when he revealed that he’s recently welcomed his seventh baby. Now, his old friend Billy Crystal is revealing what he thinks about his buddy becoming a dad again at such an advanced age.

Crystal Gives His Thoughts 

“I was with him two weeks before the baby was born,” Crystal told People Magazine. “You know, it’s amazing.”

Crystal went on to say that De Niro and his girlfriend Tiffany Chen “just love each other, and they want to do this together. I think it’s a beautiful thing. It’s wonderful.”

De Niro revealed he’d just welcomed a seventh child in a promotional interview for  About My Father.

“I mean, there’s no way around it with kids. I don’t like to have to lay down the law and stuff like that. But, [sometimes] you just have no choice,” he told ET Canada. “And any parent, I think, would say the same thing. You always want to do the right thing by the children and give them the benefit of the doubt but sometimes you can’t.”

When the interviewer asked about De Niro’s six children, he was quick to correct by saying, “Seven, actually.”

“I just had a baby,” he explained.

Watch this exchange in the video below.

Backstory: Robert De Niro Reveals He’s Become Father To Seventh Baby At 79

Baby’s Name Is Revealed

De Niro reportedly told CBS host Gayle King that the baby is a girl and that her name is Gia Virginia Chen De Niro. He added that she was born on April 6 weighing in at 8 lbs., 6 oz.

Virginia was the name of De Niro’s late mother, who died in 2000.

De Niro has also shut down any rumors that this new addition to his family came as a surprise at his age.

“How you could not plan that kind of thing?” he said. “I’m ok with it, yeah. I’m good with it.”

De Niro, who has been married twice, shares two children with his first wife Diahnne Abbott: Drena, 51, and Raphael, 46. He also has two children with his second wife Grace Hightower, who he divorced five years ago: Elliot, 25, and Helen, 11.

Between his marriages, De Niro welcomed twin sons Julian and Aaron, 27, with his ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith, who is a model and actress.

Related: Mother Of Robert De Niro’s New Baby Is Revealed By His Co-Star Kim Cattrall

Chen’s Background

Fox News reported that Chen is a martial arts instructor and kickboxer from New York City who met De Niro on the set of his 2015 movie The Intern. She’s previously said that while she “never practiced tai chi with the intention of looking to fight,” it ended up turning into that, with her winning dozens of gold medals on the international level.

“I surround myself with generous, beautiful people,” Chen said in this interview. “Quality people are rarely surrounded by individuals who aren’t motivating factors or inspirational to them. Surround yourself with good people creates a symbiotic relationship that makes everyone’s quality of life go up exponentially.”

Having a baby at nearly 80 is certainly an unusual decision, but if it makes De Niro happy, more power to him. We’re just glad that little Gia was born happy and healthy, and we wish her the best of luck in life!