How Robert De Niro Supported Tiffany Chen Amid Bell’s Palsy Diagnosis

Robert De Niro has been a leading actor in several films. However, he also knows how to take on a supportive role—including in his personal life. 

His girlfriend Tiffany Chen recently shared how the two-time Oscar winner helped her after she was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a condition that impacts facial muscles.

“He was very sweet,” the martial artist told Gayle King on CBS Mornings July 13. “He tried to say that he didn’t see any difference, he didn’t see any change. He was like, ‘No…You look fine. Maybe you look a little stern.’ And I’m like, ‘Really? My whole face is melted on itself.’ But he was very strong, very supportive.”

Chen started noticing symptoms shortly after giving birth to her and De Niro’s first child together, a baby girl named Gia Virginia Chen De Niro, in April—noting she experienced a “sharp pain” behind her left ear while she was in the delivery room. While doctors initially assumed it was fluid build-up, the athlete became more concerned as time went on.