Robert De Niro is still very much in love with being a father of a newborn at the age of 80, recently celebrating his youngest daughter Gia Virginia's first birthday.

    The actor welcomed his seventh baby with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen last April, and in a new interview, is expressing just how life as a parent once over is going.

    He was a guest on the latest installment of the Third Hour of Today with hosts Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer, all parents themselves, speaking about the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival and personal endeavors.

    When asked how one-year-old Gia was doing, he simply replied: "I always say it's pure joy. That's it," and when questioned how he would rate his skills as a dad, he joked: "I'm okay!"

    Robert then mused on how he'd changed as a father from his older kids to Gia (although also quipped: "Ask the older ones"), and said: "I mean nothing is perfect in life, as we all know."

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    "And my older kids…as [they] get older, you know, they're more critical. When they're young, like the baby, that's pure joy, period. So I'm enjoying that."

    The two-time Oscar winner is a dad to six children with three different women, welcoming now 47-year-old Raphael with first wife Diahne Abbott, and adopting her daughter Drena, now 56, from Diahne's previous relationship.

    He welcomed twin sons Julian and Aaron, now 28, with his model ex-girlfriend Toukie Smith in 1995 via surrogacy. He then married Grace Hightower, with whom he became a dad to son Eliot, now 26, and daughter Helen Grace, now 12. Robert became a dad for a seventh time with current girlfriend Tiffany, a martial arts instructor.

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    Last July, Tiffany sat down for an interview with Gayle King on CBS and opened up about the difficult weeks that followed after giving birth to Gia, revealing that she had been diagnosed with Bell's palsy.

    Bell's palsy is a neurological condition in which one side or parts of your face experiences paralysis, occurring when one of the nerves that control facial muscles stops working properly or is injured.

    She described her condition, explaining: "It was like everything was starting to just fall down on itself. Like, my face was melting on itself. And then a week after giving birth, that was when it all hit."

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    The fitness enthusiast did speak fondly of her partner and how the star consistently showed compassion and encouraged her while she dealt with her condition.

    "He tried to say that he didn't see any difference, he didn't see any change," she said. "He was like 'No. ... You look fine.' He's like, 'Maybe you look a little stern.' 

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    "And I'm like 'Really?' My whole face has melted on itself. But he was very strong, very supportive." She described her lower lip drooping and her face sagging, to the point that it made it hard for her to even speak.

    "I got to a point where it was just hanging and I'd have to hold it up," Tiffany explained. "And to talk, I'd have to hold my chin and I'd have to manipulate my lower lip to make certain sounds. I couldn't say 'Bob.'"

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