Tiffany Chen, the partner of actor Robert de Niro, said she had a “really easy” pregnancy with the couple’s child — but shortly after giving birth in April, she began to experience troubling symptoms in her face.
“It was like everything was starting to just fall down on itself. Like, my face was melting on itself,” she told “CBS Mornings. “And then a week after giving birth, that was when it all hit.”
An MRI revealed that Chen had Bell’s palsy, an unexplained medical disorder that causes severe muscle weakness or facial paralysis.
Chen said De Niro was sweet and supportive during her health struggles.
“He tried to say that he didn’t see any difference, he didn’t see any change,” Chen told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in an exclusive interview. “He was like ‘No. … You look fine.’ He’s like, ‘Maybe you look a little stern.’ And I’m like ‘Really?’ My whole face has melted on itself. But he was very strong, very supportive.”
Chen said she had a sharp pain behind her left ear right after delivering via C-section, and later noticed her face was “looking odder.” Doctors told her it was likely fluid buildup after giving birth, but when she got home from the hospital, her facial symptoms worsened. After calling her doctor, Chen was immediately readmitted to the hospital, where “everything fell,” including her lower lip, which made it hard for her to speak.
