Alec Baldwin and Wife Hilaria Open Up in Rare Interview About Raising 7 Kids and Life After theRustTragedy (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin’s sunny duplex apartment in New York City has all the hallmarks of parents with young children: framed photos of cherubic faces, stacks of books likeDinosaurs Love Underpants, and commotion. Lots of commotion.

The Baldwins’ home — which on a recent January day doubled as the set for a PEOPLE photo shoot — is filled with the sounds of seven children running and playing as their mom tries to corral them for a family photo.

“Come, come!” Hilaria calls out as several pairs of tiny feet stomp around from various directions. She tries again: “Everybody into the living room, please!” If Hilaria is stressed, she doesn’t show it. As she explains later of her parenting philosophy, “I’m going to go with the flow. Trying to fight seven little people? You’re greatly outnumbered.”

On the family’s newTLC reality seriesThe Baldwins(premiering Feb. 23), lightheartedly chaotic moments like those are interwoven with scenes about Alec’s legal drama over the accidental shooting on the set of his movieRust.

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin and their children on Jan. 3.Gillian Laub

Gillian Laub

The show gives viewers a glimpse of Emmy-winning30 Rockstar Alec, 66, and author, yoga pro and wellness expert Hilaria, 41, as they navigate a then-uncertain future and the joyful but hectic day-to-day with their kids: getting haircuts, tending to their pets (they now have four dogs and four cats) and ferrying between the city and their Long Island home in two SUVs.

“This is our lives,” says Alec, sitting beside Hilaria in their kitchen a few minutes after the photo shoot wraps.

Their children have always remained their focus and a source of happiness. “I always joke with her and say, ‘You know where I should be right now, don’t you? We should be on Geffen’s yacht, drinking a cappuccino and reading a book, and having dinner with Spielberg or whatever,’ ” he says. Hilaria interjects: “Instead we’re changing diapers!”

Which is just the way they like it. “This is my reality,” Alec says, reflecting on their family dynamic. “I wouldn’t change anything,”

The Baldwins at play.TLC

TLC

Alec and Hilaria, who wed in 2012, have been picked apart for their age difference, their decision to have a large family and everything in between. By now accustomed to facing criticism, the parents of Carmen, 11, Rafael, 9, Leonardo, 8, Romeo, 6, Eduardo and Marilu, 4, and Ilaria, 2, aim to reclaim their narrative and upend unfair misconceptions (she’s a gold-digger; he’s a grump).

“Telling your story is one thing, and showing your story is something else,” says Hilaria. “It felt authentic, it felt human. It felt very empowering.” On the show they get candid about hot topics, including whether they had a prenup. “I said I would,” Hilaria recounts. “And then you’re like, ‘Okay, we don’t have to.’ ”

For Alec, whoseoldest daughter, Ireland, 29 (with ex-wifeKim Basinger, 71),made him a proud grandfather in 2023, filming with his loved ones also felt like a bonus: It was work, but it didn’t feel like work.

Carmen Baldwin and Alec Baldwin on their TLC series.TLC

“We did the show because it’s in place of doing a movie or a play. Now I think to myself, ‘Am I going to be away from my kids five nights out of the week until 11 o’clock at night?’ ” says Alec. “For me, work-related things really aren’t that critical anymore. I thought, ‘I get to spend time with my family.’ ”

Still, filming came at a particularly tough time. Cameras rolled on the eight-episode docuseries last year in the weeks before Alec was tried in New Mexico for involuntary manslaughter following the deadly accidental shooting on the set of the western movieRustin 2021.

Alec, who faced up to 18 months in prison, was holding a prop gun when it discharged, killingcinematographer Halyna Hutchinsandinjuring writer-director Joel Souza(who recovered from his injuries).

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin on the cover of PEOPLE.Gillian Laub

But on day three of the proceedings,the judge dismissed the case with prejudiceafter Alec’s lawyers argued that the prosecutors withheld evidence.

Wendy Douglas, Vice President of Production, TLC, praises the Baldwins' “honesty, emotional openness, and genuine willingness to share the most intimate aspects of their lives” during what she calls “an incredibly vulnerable time.”

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin at home on Jan. 3.Gillian Laub

The couple leaned on each other, as seen in tender moments on the show. “I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have her,” Alec says of Hilaria. “I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.”

The Baldwins are keenly aware that others have suffered too, including Hutchins’s widower, Matthew, and their only child. As Hilaria says on the show, “A son lost his mom. We are going to feel and carry that pain forever.”

So how do they carry it? “You can’t, but you do,” says Hilaria. “There is no recipe.”

With the trial behind them, the Baldwins are thankful for what they have and secure in knowing they can get through anything together. “We’re leaning into gratitude every single day,” says Hilaria. “The simple beauties of life can get you through hard moments.”

The Baldwinspremieres on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 10pm E.T. on TLC.

For more on Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, pick up the new issue ofPEOPLE.

source: people.com