Bella and Gigi Hadid’s ‘secret’ sister speaks out on learning truth about biological father
Bella and Gigi Hadid's sister, Aydan Nix, has recalled the moment she found out she was part of the famous family in a new tell-all essay.
For those who need a reminder, the American-Palestinian supermodel duo, who are 29 and 30, respectively, shared the shocking news in May that they had another half-sister, whom they discovered in 2023.
Gigi and Bella are the daughters of divorced couple Yolanda and Mohamed Hadid, who also share together one son together, 26-year-old Anwar.
And Mohamed, a real estate developer, also has two children with his first ex-wife, Mary Butler - Alana, 40, and Marielle, 45.
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Aydan, 23, however, only found out she was a Hadid just a few years ago after taking a DNA test following the passing of the man she thought was her biological father, Terry.
She was born and raised in Florida, and grew up with 'the man she lovingly knew as her father until his sudden passing when she was 19'. However, after his death, Aydan decided to take 'a genetic test out of curiosity', which led her to realise her 'biological connection' to the Hadid children.
The Hadid sisters said in their May statement: "We first connected in late 2023, and from that moment on, we’ve embraced Aydan with open arms. She’s spent time with all of us, including our dad, and we’ve cherished this unexpected and beautiful addition to our family. As siblings, we’ve had many open and loving conversations - with Aydan included - about how to support and protect her."
And now, as we say, Aydan has publicly spoke out about the life-altering revelation, recalling the moment she got those DNA results back.
In a new interview with The Cut, she explained that she didn't know much about Terry's heritage as he was orphaned at 11 after losing his mother and she did the test out of 'curiosity'.
Aydan recalled: "I was always told that I was equal parts German and Irish. I immediately opened the Ancestry section without even glancing at the DNA-relatives section. I saw that I was 50 percent Palestinian.
"That explained the question of “What are you?” I was told I looked Persian or Turkish, and I always, without a second of doubt, replied, “Nope! German-Irish!”"
She 'immediately' FaceTimed her mother to tell her the results and was 'excited, almost giddy' to share the 'unexpected discovery'.
Aydan said: "She didn’t react the way I expected. She grew quiet, and I could tell she was anxious. Her face turned pale. She told me Terry wasn’t Middle Eastern. I laughed and joked, “What? Are you going to tell me my dad isn’t my dad?”
After a pause, her mom responded: "I didn’t want to do this over the phone" and she realised that Terry wasn't her biological father, Mohamed was.
She discovered she was born after a 'brief romance' Mohamed had with residential mortgage loan expert, Terri Hatfield Dull, following his divorce from Yolanda in 2001.
Aydan emotionally wrote: "When I learned, years later, that the man I mourned was not my biological father, the revelation didn’t erase my grief but complicated it."
She added that the shock discovery didn’t just change her 'understanding of who raised her' it also altered her 'understanding' of herself.
"I always felt like there was some missing piece, something unnameable I couldn’t fully articulate," Aydan said.
Topics: Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, Celebrity, Entertainment, Parenting
Madison Burgess