*Kimora Lee Simmons is opening up about her role as a mother and her relationships with her children’s fathers.
The model-turned-fashion mogul and reality star, 50, tells PEOPLE that she doesn’t “have a relationship really” with her kids’ dads. “Usually I would say that I co-parent okay, but the kids are with me full-time,” she explains. “I’m pretty much the primary parent. It’s difficult, but I don’t know sometimes what other people are thinking. Guys are weird.”
Simmons is mother to daughters Ming, 25, and Aoki, 23, with ex-husband Russell Simmons; son Kenzo, 16, with actor Djimon Hounsou; and son Wolfe, 10, with former investment banker Tim Leissner. She also adopted her son Gary, 16, from Jamaica in 2020 and has a “bonus son,” Jayden, 19, who has lived with the family since fourth grade.
In addition to her own children, Simmons became a “surrogate mom” to the late model Kim Porter’s children after Porter’s death in 2018. She especially supported Porter’s 18-year-old twins, D’Lila and Jessie. “I have my kids, and then I have kids on the side… I’m a lot of people’s mom,” she said during a recent appearance on “Today with Jenna & Friends.”
Scroll to continue reading
Despite limited involvement from the fathers, Simmons credits her “village” of friends, family, and mentors for helping her navigate parenthood. “I’m always ‘the mom,’ ” she explained. “I mother people all around me. When I hear people say to me, ‘I’ve come to you as a mom or best friend in my head,’ that’s what I live for.”
Simmons emphasizes that her life “doesn’t ever revolve around a guy, ever.” She adds, “I am thankful I’m able to be there for my family in ways that other people or parents are not. If I wasn’t this person, I don’t know if we would’ve made it or if we would be okay. It’s been very important to me to be strong and self-reliant, and to constantly be growing.”
Simmons recently debuted her new reality series on E!, “Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane,” describing it as “a chapter two of life.”
“I do think things go in a cycle — it’s not just cliché. I’m living it,” she added.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Kimora Lee Simmons Says She Has Stepped in as a Mother Figure to Kim Porter’s Twin Daughters
Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
