On explaining the pregnancy to her 3 kids: “Our children each have beautiful black-and-white photos of me being pregnant with them in their rooms. They’ll say, ‘Here is when I was in Mama’s belly!’ But because Leni is 5, I’ll show her an ultrasound and say, ‘This is the nose, these are the arms.’ I’ll explain how they put jelly on the belly and have a machine to look inside. And she’ll say, ‘They cut the belly open, Mama?’ ‘No, they can see through the belly!’ I’m definitely going to take her along next time! It’s a very hard concept for them. It’s like being on a car ride and asking, ‘Are we there yet? Are we there yet?’”
On hoping for a girl: “We’d be happy with either, but it would be a lie if I said we all weren’t hoping for a little girl — especially Leni because she would love to have a little sister. She’ll say, ‘I hope it’s a girl so she can be in my room, and I’m going to help you and I’m going to change the diapers and I’m going to be a really good sister.’ I don’t think the kids are jealous that a new one is coming. My kids are buddies, and they’re used to new additions. Still, I don’t know if we’ll find out the sex beforehand. In the past, we did. I’ll have to check with my husband. He always says there are so few surprises in life. This is one of them.”
On pregnancy: “It’s the most wonderful thing that your body goes through. It’s producing another human being! What a miracle. It’s never boring. Not old hat like, ‘Oh, I’ve done it three times.’ Every time is a new first time and I love it. Then the birth is just an amazing experience.”
On losing the baby weight: “I honestly don’t think, ‘Oh, my God, when I get bigger, what am I going to do with the weight after?’ People write crazy things about me, like I put vinegar on salad leaves so I have no appetite. It’s not true! I trust my body. My stomach can stretch out to the most enormous place, then it goes back with exercise and eating right. I have good eating habits. Being a model, I had to learn and change my lifestyle. In Germany, a lot of the food that we ate wasn’t healthy. A lot of things are fried with creamy sauces. But I’ve been very healthy over the last 12, 13 years. Besides, my husband always says that I’m sexy as I am. That’s what I care most about.”
On wanting a big family: “I think it’s something every girl dreams about. You know, having a big wedding with a white dress, the perfect husband, the perfect house with the white picket fence and the dog. I always hoped for a big family, but I never really put a number on how many children would be there. So I’m very lucky because I have the perfect man and lovely kids and the house in L.A. with a garden, a tennis court, and pool.”
On hired help & TV time: “We do have three nannies, two on at a time. They are a part of our family. It’s not like the staff is in a different place and we can’t be seen together! We eat together and watch TV together. I say television, but I mean Kaleidescape. It’s this great television system. TV can be violent. I don’t want the kids to see anyone shoot each other. We haven’t started with Nintendo games or anything. We’re trying to get them to be creative, like paint and play games.”
On making meal time work: “Our children eat really well. No special meals for them. What we prepare for us and is on the table is on the table, and if they don’t like it, the kitchen is closed. So they eat! Then I think it’s okay to give ice-cream for dessert. If they were bad eaters, I would not give it to them. And of course, if we drive by McDonald’s, they never say no to chicken nuggets and fries with barbecue sauce.”
On their biracial family: “If being biracial ever comes up in school, then we would definitely talk about it. And I do think they see the different colors. Leni did this wonderful painting hanging in our kitchen of our family. It’s Seal, who she painted really dark. Then me, kind of white with a sparkle dress on. And she made herself exactly like me, and she has a crown on with a sparkle dress. And then is Henry, who is not as dark as Papa, so she chose a different brown pencil. And there is Johan, who has a different brown pencil. So it’s not like she says, ‘Oh, they are different,’ but I see that she sees it. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
On balancing work and motherhood: “For me, my No. 1 priority in life was to always have a family. If I had not been able to work anymore, then that would have been it. I would definitely choose family over career. It’s really great that my field has allowed me to work and let me do things that a woman does naturally. When you’re so driven, and I’ve always been driven to be successful, and that was all I used to think about. Then I realized that having a husband and kids is what really fulfills me. If my career ended tomorrow, I can still be a good mom and teach them what I know and have them grow up to be good children.”
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