From the looks of it, Gigi Hadid's summer has been fairly picture perfect.
Providing a peek at life on the 32-acre Pennsylvania spot she owns with little sister Bella Hadid Aug. 20, the supermodel shared a compilation of dreamy photos to Instagram: the lush grounds, vivid sunsets, hand-picked strawberries and homemade cinnamon rolls. The only thing missing from her fun on the farm—which includes a fire pit, an outdoor dining space and even a crystal garden perfect for mom Yolanda Hadid's meditation sessions—was a chance to indulge in her favorite pastime.
Asked by a Twitter follower if she was still horseback riding, the pregnant supermodel responded that she hadn't been atop a mare since a few gentle walks during the first half of the year. "Early on I did (only walking tho) but not anymore," she said, noting that she still drops by the stable with handfuls of carrots for her beloved horses. "Missing it!!"
No matter—she has quite the ride ahead.
Expecting her first child, a girl, with boyfriend Zayn Malik in September, the 25-year-old runway vet has entered the any-day-now stage of her pregnancy. She and the One Direction alum, 27, have left the 'burbs behind for their recently renovated Manhattan penthouse, Hadid intending to give birth in New York City. They've selected the furnishings for the nursery, paged through their collection of parenting books and peppered Yolanda with any and every question that has come to mind.
At this point, all that's left is to wait—and let the emotion build. "Zayn and Gigi are really excited," an insider tells E! News, "and have been loving this experience together."
The on-off couple of four years, who reunited for good this past December, have been existing in this heightened elated state pretty much since learning they were set to become parents. "Gigi and Zayn are feeling blessed and are so happy that the baby is healthy and everything is going smoothly so far," a source told E! News this spring.
Though they took pains to keep their news out of the public sphere, they were excitedly sending updates to family and close friends, the model making sure to document each tiny change in her midsection.
"Like, it's there," she cracked of her bump during a July Instagram Live with V Magazine, turning to the side so the fans could finally slake their curiosity. It just felt like amid 2020's seemingly endless torrent of headline news, she explained, her and Malik's decision to start a family was "not the most important thing going on in the world."
All things considered, she continued, "I felt that it's not really something that I need to share apart from with my family and friends. Obviously a lot of people have lost lives due to [the] coronavirus that was in the beginning of quarantine and still happening. And then we moved obviously into the reemergence of the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement, and I thought that our presence on social media should be used for that."
Though her 56 million Instagram followers can take heart in knowing there's a whole collection of bump photos on her iPhone that she just may decide to share at some point. "I just am not rushed to do it," she explained, "and I feel like right now I just want to experience it, and I write in my journal a lot, and I just don't want to worry about waking up everyday during my pregnancy and like worry about having to like look cute or post something."
Which, preach.
Besides, the Chanel, Burberry and Marc Jacobs vet already has plenty else to do to prep for her baby's late summer arrival. "They both are reading parenting books," the insider tells E! News, adding that the mom- and dad-to-be, "have had fun planning the nursery and picking out items together."
Thankfully the rest of the nesting was already complete, Hadid having put the finishing touches on her eclectic New York apartment (right down to the pasta-decorated kitchen cabinets) before decamping to Pennsylvania to ride out much of quarantine.
In the country, she's indulged her carb cravings with a bagel a day, she revealed to Jimmy Fallon during an April appearance on The Tonight Show, and felt grateful for this chance to lie low with the rest of the world. "Especially during this time," she revealed, "it's a nice silver lining to be able to be home and be together and really experience it day by day."
Removed from any pressures of her career, Gigi is "really enjoying the low-key lifestyle," the source told E! News in April. "They spend a lot of time outdoors in the open fields and have a lot of space to themselves at the house. It's a nice change of pace and Gigi does not want to return to a chaotic lifestyle."
Particularly when bunking in Pennsylvania afforded her such easy access to her greatest resource. "She is so happy she's with her mom through all of this and is learning so much about parenting," the source said of Hadid, who marked Mother's Day with a tribute to the Netherlands-born model, "the one I'll do my best to emulate."
Excited to be promoted to "Oma," Yolanda has quite a bit to share. "She has been helping a lot," the insider says, "making sure they have everything they need and they both appreciate the support."
Malik, meanwhile, has dutifully stepped into the doting dad-to-be role, the British R&B musician attentive to each and every need and craving that may arise. "Zayn and Gigi are really excited and have been loving this experience together," notes the insider. "Things are going really smoothly and they are closer as a couple more than ever."
Just a few more picturesque sunsets to go.