Bradley Cooper has been transparent about his relationship struggles with his daughter, who is six years old. Lea De Seine, the actor’s child with model Irina Shayk, was born in March 2017. However, Cooper recently disclosed that he had difficulties during the first several months of fatherhood.

Bradley Cooper on his connection with daughter Lea 

During his appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Cooper said that he didn’t understand when fellow parents would say, “I would die in a second for my kid,” as he didn’t feel those emotions till several months after his daughter’s birth. The actor 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. That’s my experience. Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if someone came in with a gun?”

Cooper continued, describing how, a few months into her existence, he experienced a realization that left him feeling as though there was no uncertainty at all. Shortly after the actor added that he has subsequently made an effort to improve himself in order “to do the least amount of damage that [he] could do to [his] daughter.”

When Bradley Cooper leaves press conference due to daughter's emergency

Previously, Cooper excused himself from the Maestro promotions in December 2023 to attend an emergency call from his daughter's school. In between the ongoing press conference, the actor said, "So sorry. The school nurse just called me. Can I just leave the room for a second to call them back and you can keep going? Is that all right?" 

He was supposed to join the team after attending the call. However, when Cooper returned, he said, “I have to go to the school to do something with Lea that needs. I have to apply something that they won't allow. I have to do it, so it's like a 10-minute walk.”

The press conference incident came after Cooper was pictured with his daughter in New York on December 15.