Robert De Niro’s partner Tiffany Chen has candidly revealed she lost “all facial functions” following the birth of their daughter.
The 45-year-old mother spoke to CBS Mornings cohost Gayle King about her “postpartum complications” during her first interview since having baby Gia in April.
During the interview, which airs in full on Friday, Chen revealed to King her “face felt weird” and her tongue was funny post-delivery.
“When I got home it was like everything was just starting to fall down on itself, like my face was melting,” the actress said.
About a week later, Chen couldn’t move her mouth to eat, and had begun slurring her words. She said she called her doctor only to find out she was experiencing Bell’s palsy, a neurological disorder that causes paralysis in the face.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Bell’s palsy causes a “weakness in the muscles on one side of the face,” but the condition is often temporary and improves in a couple of weeks. In Chen’s experience, both sides of her face were affected.
Also known as “acute peripheral facial palsy,” the disorder can make the face appear lopsided or droopy suddenly and worsen within two days. There is no confirmed cause of Bell’s palsy. However, The Facial Paralysis Institute has linked numerous cases to women post-pregnancy.
De Niro announced the birth of Gia Virginia – his seventh child – when he corrected an ET Canada correspondent who described him as a father of six children. “I just had a baby,” he told the interviewer.
The Godfather and Goodfellas actor shares Drena, 51 and Raphael, 46, with his ex-wife Diahnne Abbott, while he and ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith coparent their 27-year-old twin sons Aaron and Julian. He shares his son Elliot, 25 and daughter Helen, 11, with his former wife Grace Hightower.
On 2 July, De Niro lost his eldest grandchild Leandro, Drena’s 19-year-old son, to alleged fentanyl consumption.
