THE WOMAN COMING BETWEEN GIGI & ZAYN
Yolanda heat reveals how momager in town. Zayn there’s a new tension with aside Kris Jenner, causing – and why she’s Gigi’s rise to fame Hadid plotted
You’ d think zayn malik Y would be grateful to Yolanda hadid–after of the all, she’s part for Gigi. gene pool responsible But just weeks after moving girlfriend, in with his model Zayn’ s already complaining to who Gigi’s mum – friends about up at their house sometimes turns has even started uninvited and he propose. suggesting that “Zayn is naturally struggling so being around with Yolanda insider close to much,” says an have been living the couple, who together in the 1d star’ shu gel a the end of July. mansion since “Zayn wants to enjoy living with but Gigi is so close his girlfriend, wants her around to her mum, she a lot. zayn understand sand respects this, but it’ s hard for him when they’ ve just moved in together. gigi even had an extra She pops in key made for Yolanda. nag can’t help but frequently and Zayn about things–his taste in what the reclusiveness, art, his fridge is stocked with. she’ s even when he’ll propose started asking to gigi, whic his so awkward .” It’ s not the first relationship have faced since hurdle the pair last November they started dating of a split – including rumours – but friends say earlier this year were prepared neither of them with for zayn ,23, clashing mum. “zayn and yo land a Gigi’s can on well, but it generally get water at times. be like oil and clear that her Gigi’s made it part of her life mom’s a huge tell her to back and she won’t off .zayn know she’ ll have this.” to get used to Well, when you’re a normal lad from Bradford, it’s understandable that a hollywood momager like Yolanda Hadid might come as a bit of a shock. But, heat can reveal, Gigi’s unlikely to want to break free of time soon – because her mum any reason she’s become Yolanda’s the world. models in the one of the top A hollywood insider, who’ s known the ha did family for over heat, “The Hadids ten years, tells their mother are famous because She’s as fame willed it to happen. hungry as they come. she’ s a stage all three of mom. She wanted models her kids to become young, since they were the and she’s all about family brand.” international A former Yolanda, 52,l eft model, her home townof in Papendrecht Netherlands the when she was signed to Ford Models (also home of Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson). She lived with the Ford family but LA was super-ambitious in New York, ultimate Yolanda’s met and married goal: when she Mohamed real-estate millionaire they moved to Hadid in 1994, Yolanda made California, where at acting, before a (failed) attempt – Gigi, 21, having three children Bella ,19, and an war ,17. In 2001, a year after splitting her Yolanda tried with Mohamed, hand at reality tv in ash ow called Hollywood Dutch women of (yes, really) which ran for two getting her big seasons, before break and joining the real Beverly Hills, Housewives Of not-yet-famous a show that the on. also appeared Bella and Gigi ex, who she In 2011, Yolanda’s her to, introduced remains close music producer to Madonna’s and they married David Foster, in front of a crowd the same year of celebrities like oprah win frey, and Kate Hudson. Michael Bublé appeared David had already on a reality show–princes of his then-wife Malibu, with
‘Yolanda scares the shit out of me – she’s manipulative’
Linda Thompson – and we’re told that Yolanda was by then set on making the family famous. “Yolanda would go to castings and shows, and tell [Gigi and Bella] how to walk and how to work the cameras,” a family insider told the New York Post recently. She also signed all three of her children up to IMG Models.
“The family was always loosely trying to be in reality shows, and then, when the Yolanda landed The Real Housewives Of Beverley
Hills, that opened up the door for them,” reality TV producer David Weintraub tells heat. “It’s not necessarily, ‘How can I be famous?’, it’s, ‘How can I be known for doing my career?’ So, I would say that they’ve spent some time looking for television opportunities to cross-promote the modelling careers.”
Spencer Pratt, star of The Hills, tells heat that Gigi was looking for reality TV fame before she’d even left school. “I filmed a pilot with Gigi when she was at school, and MTV loved it. They wanted her to be the next Lauren Conrad,” he says. “They didn’t even want a cast around her – they just wanted her.”
Yolanda was a controversial figure on RHOBH, because since 2014, she’s been suffering from Lyme disease, which she claims made her “unable to walk, talk or write”. Other cast members claimed she was milking her health issues for a storyline, with castmate Lisa Rinna saying, “I just feel like maybe she uses that sickness to her advantage in a lot of ways [and] get a lot of sympathy,” while co-star Eileen Davidson claimed, “She scares the shit out of me, because I think she’s more manipulative than anybody.” Yolanda denied the claims and, earlier this year, was demoted to a guest star rather than a regular, leading to her quitting the show. “Yolanda knows she’s not the moneymaker in the family anymore, which is why she’s been prepping both Gigi and Bella for these modelling careers,” says our source. “She wants the best for her kids, but she also likes the idea of being the next Kris Jenner – only better, richer and even more famous.”
But Yolanda’s mission to make her daughters stars has made her a few enemies. Yolanda and David Foster announced their divorce on 1 December 2015 after a secret separation of a year, and it seems Yolanda’s former stepdaughters Sara and Erin Foster (from David’s second wife) aren’t fans. When asked about Yolanda’s Lyme disease on US radio, former 90210 star Sara replied, “We don’t comment on Yolanda’s health. Only she knows her journey, but I will say is, if you’re capable of continuing to be on a reality show, you’re not dying.”
Our LA insider says that the feud actually runs much deeper than that. “It’s no accident that you never see David’s daughters with Gigi and Bella,” says the friend. “They openly make fun of Gigi, Bella and Yolanda. Sara even does a hysterical impression of Yolanda that gets people in stitches.” Sara and Erin have a spoof reality show on VH1 called Barely Famous, and – confusingly – also used to be stepsisters to Brody and Brandon Jenner, when the girls’ dad, David, was married to their mum, Linda (see family tree, below). However, Bella and Gigi haven’t got on the cover of Vogue and Harpers
Bazaar with just a pushy mum and family connections. Jessica Morgan, fashion journalist at The
Fug Girls, tells heat that they’ve worked hard, too. “I first noticed Gigi during Real Housewives
Of Beverly Hills, when she was clearly being groomed to become a model. She is obviously beautiful – and has always seemed friendly and polite – but I didn’t think she’d become as successful as she has.
“I’ve only ever seen them at work – by which I mean on the runway – although, when I interviewed Bella, she was very nice to me. They are both totally competent runway models, which sounds like I am damning them with faint praise, but I actually think it’s quite difficult to be a totally competent runway model.”
Another Hollywood insider
‘She asked Zayn when he’d propose’
adds that there’s one more thing which helped Gigi and Bella become global stars: their mates. “Yolanda’s always encouraged the girls to hang out with famous types. She was keen for Bella to meet Abel Tesfaye [pop star The Weeknd] and spend time with him two years before they even started dating, because she could tell that Abel’s career was on the rise. Yolanda loves Gigi and Bella’s friendship with Kendall and Kylie Jenner, too, because it’s great for the family brand.” Their brother Anwar, meanwhile, made his modelling debut for Moschino in June – his walk coached, reportedly, by his mum.
Now, we’re told that even dad Mohamed is getting into the reality show business. “I’ve heard that Mohamed is getting a reality show with his new fiancée [model Shiva Safai, who’s set to be Gigi and Bella’s new stepmum],” David Weintraub tells heat.
Zayn: it’s only a matter of time until you and Gigi get your own series. Whether you want it or not.