Originally appeared on E! Online
Aydan Nix is getting real about what it’s like being a Hadid.
Nearly seven months after Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid confirmed that their dad Mohamed Hadid had fathered a daughter with another woman following his 2000 divorce from their mom Yolanda Hadid, Nix — whose mother is Terri Hatfield Dull — shared insight into their bond as half-siblings.
“My sisters (along with the rest of the family) have been nothing but warm and generous,” the 23-year-old wrote in an essay published by The Cut on Dec. 30. “They have made space for me in ways they didn’t have to. They’ve been kind.”
In fact, Nix became “obsessed” with learning about her ancestry after discovering her true paternity, with Marielle Hadid and Alana Hadid — Mohamed’s older daughters with his first wife Mary Butler — as well as Gigi and Bella’s younger brother Anwar Hadid helping her along in the journey.
“Alana sent me resources and inspired me to become active in the fight for Palestine’s freedom,” she wrote. “I watched Anwar’s film Walled Off. Gigi took me for my first Palestinian meal and taught me the names of different dishes.”
READ: Who is Aydan Nix? Meet Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid’s half-sister
The Parsons School of Design graduate continued, “I was trying to find my place in a family I never knew I had; sifting through Bella’s closet and gossiping or laughing at Marielle’s jokes at dinner, but I felt a pressure from myself to somehow make up for lost time.”
After all, Nix was raised in Florida with a different family, including a dad who passed away when she was a teenager.
“At the same time, I was processing the fact that the older sister I had known my whole life didn’t share my DNA at all,” wrote Nix, who connected with the Hadids in 2023 after undergoing a genetic test. “It didn’t change who she was to me, but it forced me to reorient what family meant.”
And as her concept of family widened, so did job opportunities as a freelance wardrobe stylist.
“I got to close the Desigual fashion show in Barcelona,” she wrote. “Gigi introduced me to her friend, Gabriella Karefa Johnson, whom I had admired not only for her styling but for her strong convictions and values. I started assisting her when times were especially busy.”
Still, Nix said her life “didn’t change much” since her paternity reveal in May.
“I live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in the East Village and mooch off of my mom,” she shared. “I take the subway or bus to work. When the Met Gala comes, I will be working nonstop carrying 70-pound trunks up and down stairs or through the freight entrance at the Carlyle.”
Nix added, “Today, I am doing my best to live my life for me and to remember that, despite a couple of extra eyes on me, my life is still my own.”
The supermode spoke to Allure about her new venture and reflected on her recent time away from the runway.
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