Hilaria Baldwin was ready to call it quits with Alec Baldwin if his eldest daughter, Ireland, did not approve of their relationship.
On Sunday’s episode of TLC’s “The Baldwins,” Hilaria, 41, opened up about her bond with Ireland, 29, whom Alec shares with his ex-wife, Kim Basinger.
”I feel like it is unique for a stepmom and stepdaughter relationship.” the yoga guru said. “First of all, I am 11 years older than her, I didn’t raise her and we find tremendous humor in that.”
Hilaria said that when she struck up a romance with the “30 Rock” alum, 66, she was not willing to stick around if Ireland had an issue with it.
“Before I was her stepmother, when I met her I told Alec, ‘If she doesn’t like me, I am not staying,’” she said. “I [was] not going to be the wicked stepmother. My place in life is not to come into a family and cause problems.”
“[Ireland] immediately welcomed me and we have never fought and it is so easy,” she said, adding that she had “too much respect for the family” to come between them.
Prior to tying the knot with Hilaria, the “It’s Complicated” actor was married to Basinger.
The co-stars of “The Marrying Man” said “I do” in 1993 after meeting on the set of the 1991 movie. However, a few years after welcoming Ireland in 1995, the duo’s marriage began to crumble.
Their split turned bitter as they battled for custody of Ireland for a total of seven years following their divorce in 2002.
The controversial “Rust” actor has had a roller-coaster relationship with his eldest child.
Alec infamously left her a heated voicemail in April 2007, telling her that she was a “rude, thoughtless little pig” after she didn’t pick up the phone for a court-ordered conversation in the midst of a custody battle.
But their father-daughter bond has grown stronger since then, especially now that Ireland is a mom herself.
Alec eventually found love with Hilaria. The pair wed in 2012.
The couple went on to have seven kids: Carmen Gabriela, 11, Rafael Thomas, 9, Leonardo Ángel Charles, 8, Romeo Alejandro David, 6, Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 4, María Lucía “Marilu” Victoria, 4, and Ilaria Catalina Irena, 2.
On Sunday’s episode, Hilaria opened up about the first time she met the actor.
“Obviously our age difference is there. I am always insecure. Even when I had dinner with him, I felt like it was a big deal that someone was bringing me out,” she said. “I was in the land of splitting the check and it was a big deal that he paid. I didn’t take that lightly.”
“Then he texted me asking, ‘What do you think about dating someone 26 years older than you?’ What I appreciated about him was that he was very into consent. He asked to kiss me for the first time,” the mom of seven added.
“She was very young so they were very young,” Alec said of his wife, saying she previously only dated men “who were age appropriate” for her.
“I would meet them and be like, ‘I get it. They are very handsome and very super fit,’” he added.
