Hilaria Baldwin is sharing her tumultuous journey in the public eye in her latest memoir, “Manual Not Included.” In the book, the 41-year-old Yoga Vida founder is getting real with readers about the ups and downs in her high-profile marriage to Alec Baldwin, who is 26 years her senior.
While the star-studded couple has shared many high-highs throughout their 13 years of marriage, they’ve also trudged through a series of low-lows, that have almost led to divorce. And according to Hilaria Baldwin, some of the hardships they experienced came to light at the very beginning of their courtship.
According to the mother of seven, there were times when she felt unable to communicate with her famous husband due to their significant age gap and generational differences. “When Alec and I met, I was twenty-seven and he was fifty-three,” she writes. “Our generations- boomer and millennial- feel like different cultures.”
But despite their at times difficulty in communication when it comes to their significant age gap, Hilaria is also able to see the perks in their differences. According to the entrepreneur, she really appreciates the “old fashioned” way Alec courted her. For the first six weeks of their relationship, Hilaria writes, all the 30 Rock alum wanted to do was “talk” to her.
Hilaria explains, “As much as I found humor in his old fashioned dating style, I also found it refreshing and completely different from what I was used to. I was like what is this?” she writes. “He wanted to get to know me and this allowed me not to feel pressured and to get to know him too. It wasn’t purely physical attraction; it was true respect.” Hilaria adds, “No one had ever wanted to get to know me in quite that way before.”
The Baldwins Have Very Different Love Languages
According to Hilaria Baldwin, she was initially very uncomfortable with the “It’s Complicated” star’s displays of affection. On their very first Valentine’s Day together, Hilaria told Alec that she really didn’t want to do anything special, since her form of love is through “acts of service” as opposed to the mushy-gushy stuff that February 14th is all about. But Alec shows affection in a more obvious way, which Hilaria says initially made her extremely unsettled.
At one point, he even gave Hilaria a Valentine’s Day Card, then made her write one to him as well, despite her distaste for the holiday. Initially, she refused to comply, since it felt disingenuous. “Signing his card on demand didn’t feel authentic to me,” she writes in her book. “So, in my usual way, I refused to do it.”
Hilaria Baldwin Eventually Warmed Up To Alec Baldwin’s Romantic Ways
Despite Hilaria’s more practical ways, she eventually grew to admire her husband’s bolder displays of affection. As time passed, the yoga extraordinaire says she finds his “courage to be a romantic” incredibly brave. As a result, Hilaria now goes out of her way to get Alec a Valentine’s Day card every February 14th. “Now, no matter the occasion, I make sure to always get Alec a card,” she writes. “Not because he forces me to or guilts me into it, but simply because I know how much it means to him.”
