Bradley Cooper’s conscious parenting style means he won’t do this when he’s with his daughter – would you have caved?

The Guardians of the Galaxy star was hailed as a “really good dad”

Bradley Cooper arrives on the red carpet at the Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' "A Star Is Born" at The Shrine Auditorium
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Children naturally become more curious of the world around them when they get older, and Bradley Cooper’s daughter is no exception. 

And, as role of parent, you’re probably expected to know the answers to all their pressing questions, such as is Santa Claus real or what does demisexual mean?  

But when you’re stumped for answers, most parents would probably just Google it, right? In Bradley's case, apparently not.

Speaking to long-term Hollywood friend Emma Stone for Variety magazine’s ‘Actors on Actors’ series, The Hangover star recalled a time when he was asked an existential question from his six-year-old daughter, Lea.

“I was with my daughter the other day… She’s like, ‘So what happens after, when you die?’.”

As the Easy A actress gasped, Bradley, who co-parents with Russian model Irina Shayk, continued: “I was like, ‘You know, I actually don’t know.’ Because I just always tell her the truth.”

Bradley Cooper, Irina Shayk and their daughter Lea are seen arriving at the 75th Venice Film Festival

Bradley and Irina with daughter Lea arriving at the 75th Venice Film Festival 

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Emma then asked if Google would have known the answer, to which he said "maybe". Rightly confused, she asked why the father-of-one didn’t just pull out his phone and Google the question. 

The Limitless actor proceeded to explain that he was getting ice cream with his daughter and revealed: "I don’t like to be on my phone around my daughter."

Showing a display of admiration for her friend, the Crazy, Stupid, Love actress said: "That’s cool. You’re a really good dad."

The paparazzi are frequently capturing the actor-director and his daughter in the Manhattan area, despite her parents wanting to keep Lea out of the public eye.

The 48-year-old shares 50/50 joint custody of his daughter with Irina, who, in 2021 explained the two don't co-parent; instead, they raise their daughter together.

Irina told Elle magazine: "I never understood the term co-parenting. When I’m with my daughter, I’m 100 percent a mother, and when she’s with her dad, he’s 100 percent her dad. Co-parenting is parenting."

More recently, the Victoria Secret model told Harper's Bazaar that the most important lesson they teach Lea is to be kind to people.

She continued: "With TikTok and Instagram and social media, my daughter is growing up in a different environment than I grew up in, so sometimes it kind of scares me. But most important is teaching our daughter bigger values than being pretty on the outside."

The debate on what age parents should buy their kids phones seems to affect the rich and famous too, as Jimmy Fallon sparks parenting debate after revealing gifts for his daughters and in other news, Katherine Ryan hits back at mum-shamers who trolled her over drinking wine while breastfeeding.

Daniella Gray
Family News & Wellbeing Writer

From building healthy family relationships to self-care tips for mums and parenting trends - Daniella also covers postnatal workouts and exercises for kids. After gaining a Print Journalism BA Hons degree and NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Nottingham Trent University, Daniella started writing for Health & Wellbeing and co-hosted the Walk to Wellbeing podcast. She has also written for Stylist, Natural Health, The Sun UK and Fit & Well. In her free time, Daniella loves to travel, try out new fitness classes and cook for family and friends.