On TLC’s all-new episode of The Baldwins, Hilaria and Ireland — whose daughters are just nine months apart — meet up for dinner, as Alec reflects on the “insanity” of his divorce from Ireland’s mom, Kim Basinger.
If there was one trope Hilaria Baldwin was not going to fall into, it was that of the evil stepmother.
On Sunday’s all-new episode of The Baldwins, Hilaria meets up with husband Alec’s eldest daughter, Ireland, who is in town to visit her famous family, and reflects on how important it was to for them to have a good relationship before she married the It’s Complicated actor.
“Before I was her stepmother, when I met her, I first had a conversation with Alec, and I said, ‘You know, if she doesn’t like me, I’m not staying. ‘Cause I’m not gonna be wicked stepmother,'” Hilaria recalled in a confessional. “‘My place in life is not to come into a family, and cause problems. And I love you, and I’m loving our relationship, but I have too much respect for the family.'”
Luckily for Hilaria, it didn’t come to that, with the mother of seven sharing that Ireland welcomed her right away.
“She’s such an amazing person. She immediately welcomed me. It was so easy, we’ve never fought,” she gushed.
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Their strong bond came on the heels of Alec’s messy divorce from Ireland’s mother, actress Kim Bassinger. And thought they’re all one, happy blended family now, Alec said the divorce was “insanity.”
“My divorce with Ireland’s mother was not easy. Very lengthy. Very expensive. I mean, just insanity,” the father of eight, who divorced Bassinger in 2002, told the cameras. “I was on a plane every other week for all of the school year. I flew back and forth from New York to Los Angeles 18 times a year. Got a house eight doors down from my daughter and her mother, and I thought that that would improve things. And it did not improve things, and became, as it still is, unnecessarily difficult that way.”
“After my divorce, her mother and I were working all the time,” he went on to say. “And Ireland usually went with her mother.”
Hilaria said she counts herself lucky that she came into their family at a moment where everyone had “moved on” and were “settled.”
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“She has a mom that she has a very good relationship with,” Hilaria noted. “And so my job wasn’t to come in and parent. Ireland had met girlfriends before of Alec’s, so I wasn’t the next one. She was in L.A. and Alec would travel there. I mean, he is such a good dad. And you see it with our kids, he wants to be in his kids’ lives.”
While viewers don’t get to see Ireland and Alec interact much during the episode, Hilaria does FaceTime her husband while out to lunch with Ireland, her newborn daughter Holland and her boyfriend, André.
“I’m so happy,” Alec gushed while FaceTiming with his daughter and granddaughter.
As the then one-year-old tore pieces of bread out of her mouth, the proud grandfather was reminded of a memory from Ireland’s childhood, telling Holland, “You are exactly like your mother. Because we would go to Edo Sushi on Ventura Blvd, and Ireland Baldwin would leave, like, ten-pounds of rice on the floor.”
Speaking then directly to his daughter, Alec complimented the new mom before sharing how glad he was that Hilaria was spending the afternoon with Ireland and her new family.
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And though it’s unclear if Alec spent time with Ireland during her visit to the East Coast — the model now lives in Oregon with her partner — Holland and Alec’s youngest daughter, Ilaria, got the chance to meet and play together at the Baldwin home.
“We got all the kids together for a play date this morning,” Hilaria gushed. “It’s so wonderful, because we were pregnant together, but just barely. My baby is almost nine months older than Ireland’s baby. But my baby is Holland’s aunt, and Holland is my baby’s niece.”
Dishing on his role as a grandfather to friend Caroline Rhea, who was also in town visiting, Alec again expressed how happy he was for his daughter.
“So cute,” he said. “I’m happy for her. He’s a great guy. She’s so happy. The baby is just perfect.”
The Baldwins airs on TLC Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET.
