Hilaria Baldwin Addresses "Gold Digger Vibes" in Alec Baldwin Romance

Hilaria Baldwin Details Her Role as the "Alpha Parent" to Her and Alec Baldwin’s 7 KidsHilaria Baldwin is cashing in on the opportunity to clear the air. The Dancing With the Stars alum pushed back on the idea that she gives off “gold digger vibes” while acknowledging the fact that she married her husband Alec Baldwin in 2012 when she was a “27-year-old yoga instructor” and he was “a rich and famous older man.” “I'm not that way,” Hilaria said during an appearance on SiriusXM's Page Six Radio July 30. “From the beginning, he would always try to buy me things and I would be like, ‘No, I don't want this.’” In fact, the 42-year-old emphasized the lengths she went to to turn down Alec’s offers. “I was living in a small apartment, and any New Yorker knows that the temperature inside of an apartment is a little complicated, right?” she continued. “I actually had a computer that didn't work very well and I would use it to heat my hands at night.” Still, Hilaria refused to accept gifts from Alec, 68, for a very specific reason. “I was like, ‘I don't want you to buy me something because I want to know that I like you for you,’” she continued. “Because I don't want to be a prisoner either. It’s two ways.” As she put it, “I was like, ‘I need to know that I want to be here.’” Plus, if there were still any doubters, Hilaria—mom to kids Carmen, 12, Rafael, 11, Leonardo, 9, Romeo, 8, Eduardo, 5, María, 5, and Ilaria, 3, with Alec—noted that her seven children should prove she isn’t in her relationship for the money. Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty Images“First of all, seven kids? Not what gold diggers should do,” she quipped, noting that a successful gold digger would “have one then get out. Don't have seven because they're very expensive.” In the end, Hilaria explained that her relationship with Alec works because they both “want to be there.” “Life should be long and very beautiful and wonderful and exciting and all these things,” she shared, “but at the same time, bad things happen in everybody's life and people have seen it very publicly with our life.” So, she said, “You're going to have to want to be there even when you don't like the person, even when you're mad at them. Even when the world is very loud and they're trying to make you not like the person. So, I feel like that's our [reason].” For a look back at Hilaria and Alec’s road to romance, keep reading… Gary Gershoff/WireImageSummer Lovin'Alec Baldwin told the New York Times he gave his future wife, then Hilaria Thomas, his number upon meeting her at Pure Food and Wine in New York in February 2011. The two played phone tag until they finally arranged a time to meet for dinner. That August they enjoyed their first US Open together, one of Alec's favorite events.Theo Wargo/WireImageBlack Tie Date NightAlec looked into his future and saw Hilaria at the 10th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation's "An Enduring Vision" benefit at Cipriani Wall Street in October 2011. They moved in together the following month.Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesSwept AwayHilaria accompanied Alec to the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. "I've dated a lot of people since my divorce, and have thought a lot about what I wanted and what I wanted to do," he said. "I thought about it too much, I suppose. I wasn't really ready to take that chance and to act until I met Hilaria." Splash NewsHe Put a Ring On It!In April 2012, Alec's rep confirmed to E! News that he and Hilaria were engaged.Henry Lamb/Photowire/BEI/Shutterstock Daughter-Approved!Hilaria and Ireland Baldwin frequently tweet about their friendship. Ireland joked on the social networking site she was going to serve as a "flower girl" in the wedding, but actually was a bridesmaid.Anthony Harvey/Getty ImagesThey Do!On June 30, 2012, the happy couple tied the knot in front of family and friends at the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan. The bride wore a silk magnolia trumpet Amsale gown and the groom donned a tux from Tom Ford.Instagram/Hilaria BaldwinFull HouseThe couple are now parents of seven, welcoming Carmen Gabriela (Aug. 23, 2013), Rafael Thomas (June 17, 2015), Leonardo Ángel Charles (Sept. 12, 2016), Romeo Alejandro David (May 17, 2018), Eduardo "Edu" Pao Lucas (Sept. 8, 2020), María Lucía Victoria (Feb. 25, 2021, via surrogate) and Ilaria Catalina Irena (Sept. 22, 2022). The whole family will be starring on TLC's The Baldwins, premiering Feb. 23, 2025.For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App