Alec Baldwin and his family are the subject of a new TLC reality show called The Baldwins.
As the series premiere aired on Sunday, February 23, the 66-year-old father-of-eight lamented that his and wife Hilaria Baldwin’s New York City penthouse is ‘too small’ for their brood of youngsters.
The longtime actor and his much younger, 41-year-old yogi wife are parents to seven kids: Carmen, 11, Rafael, nine, Leonardo, eight, Romeo, six, Eduardo and Marilu, four, and Ilaria, two. Alec also shares 29-year-old daughter Ireland with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
Despite the sprawling square footage of the family’s Devonshire House penthouse — which was purchased in 2011 for $11.7 million, per Curbed — the Saturday Night Live star and his loved ones are feeling cramped.
But sympathy for the Baldwins is hard to come by online, with fans taking to social media to express their unforgiving reactions to Alec’s complaint.
One person wrote on an X thread, ‘My wife & I raised 3 kids in a 1,300 sqft, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. Poor guy just needs more space.’
Alec Baldwin, 66, and his family are the subject of a new TLC reality show called The Baldwins. As the series premiered, Alec complained that his NYC penthouse is ‘too small’ for him, his wife, and kids
The longtime actor and his much younger, 41-year-old yogi wife are parents to Carmen, 11, Rafael, nine, Leonardo, eight, Romeo, six, Eduardo and Marilu, four, and Ilaria, two
Another sarcastically added to the conversation, ‘Imagine suffering like this. Over 6,000 square feet in NYC, and it’s still not enough. Thoughts and prayers for Alec during this difficult time.’
Someone else issued a cutting response that read: ‘If I lived with him, a 6000 sq ft dwelling would not be big enough for me either…’
Another viewer took aim at Hilaria, writing on the app formerly known as Twitter, ‘Well Alec Baldwin’s wife does have 16 different personalities so I’m sure it gets crowded in there.’
There was also a fan who pointed out that the NYC home has ‘stairs, no less.’
And one social media user implied Alec’s age, observing, ‘Looks to me like he’s ready for a one-level.’
‘Wow, how do you live? I wonder if he’d ever survive in my 1400 square foot house?’ another critic added.
Shortly after Alec and Hilaria tied the knot in 2012, they sought to expand their dwelling by purchasing the neighboring apartment for $1.2 million.
In 2017, they sought to create even more space for their growing family as they snapped up another Devonshire apartment — a $1.3 million studio, according to Curbed.
In 2019 the Baldwins continued widening their territory when they scooped up another studio at the building for $1.7 million.
After filing city permits, they were able to complete a $340,000 renovation job that combined the spaces into one.
One person wrote on an X thread, ‘My wife & I raised 3 kids in a 1,300 sqft, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. Poor guy just needs more space’
Fans have taken to social media to express their unforgiving reactions to Alec’s ‘too small’ complaint
Someone sarcastically added to the conversation, ‘Imagine suffering like this. Over 6,000 square feet in NYC, and it’s still not enough. Thoughts and prayers for Alec during this difficult time’
Someone else issued a cutting response that read: ‘If I lived with him, a 6000 sq ft dwelling would not be big enough for me either…’
Another viewer took aim at Hilaria, writing on the app formerly known as Twitter, ‘Well Alec Baldwin’s wife does have 16 different personalities so I’m sure it gets crowded in there’
There was also a fan who pointed out that the NYC home has ‘stairs, no less’
And one social media user implied Alec’s age, observing, ‘Looks to me like he’s ready for a one-level’
‘Wow, how do you live? I wonder if he’d ever survive in my 1400 square foot house?’ another critic added
The Baldwins have real estate in the Hamptons as well, where some of their reality show was also filmed.
In a conversation with People in February, ahead of their show’s premiere, the husband and wife reflected on their busy lifestyle with seven kids and various pets.
‘This is our lives,’ Alec told the publication. ‘I always joke with [my wife] and say, “You know where I should be right now, don’t you?
‘We should be on [David] Geffen’s yacht, drinking a cappuccino and reading a book, and having dinner with [Steven] Spielberg or whatever.’
Last Thursday, critics weighed in on Baldwin’s reality show.
TIME’s TV critic Judy Berman marveled at how the Oscar nominee was in the midst of an existential crisis, gripped with OCD and PTSD, just 10 days ahead of his involuntary manslaughter trial over the shooting of Rust DP Halyna Hutchins.
‘”Why did I have seven kids?” he asks [his wife] Hilaria. “To help carry me and you through this situation.” It’s an answer vulnerable and psychologically complex enough to make you wish for a show that really did humanize the Baldwins, instead of just bugging us about how normal they are, like a toddler tugging on his dad’s pant leg for attention,’ Berman wrote.
‘The strain the case has put on the Baldwins is palpable, and perhaps the most authentic element of this snoozy infomercial of a reality show.’
In one scene, Alec lamented he had ‘never been through anything like this in my entire life’ adding: ‘Everything was so different before this happened, and our lives are very, very different. Our children have been forced to recognize that. They’ve been forced to deal with that, with us, in their own way.’
The Telegraph critic Ed Power gave Baldwin’s damage-control series one star out of five, calling it ‘a self-pitying attempt at image rehabilitation.’
Alec’s involuntary manslaughter trial only lasted three days before being dismissed on July 12 after he denied ever pulling the trigger on the revolver that fired a single bullet into Rust director Joel Souza’s arm and punctured Halyna’s chest killing her.
The show follows the actor’s family life with his wife Hilaria and their seven children
Throughout filming, Baldwin was awaiting trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, after shooting Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a film set
Hutchins – who’s buried near the pond at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery – left behind her husband Matt Hutchins and 12-year-old son Andros.
On January 9, Baldwin filed a civil lawsuit against the Rust case prosecutors, investigators, and commissioners for defamation and malicious prosecution and civil rights violations due to ‘intentionally mishandling evidence.’
Meanwhile, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility on April 15 for involuntary manslaughter conviction for her role in the shooting.
Later in the season, Hilaria is seen sitting down for dinner with her Oregon-based stepdaughter Ireland, as well as her 20-month-old daughter Holland and babydaddy RAC.
‘My relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother,’ explained Alec, who once called her a ‘rude, thoughtless little pig.’
‘It took a long time to restore that. This is why I think I’m so aware of my relationship with my [younger] kids.’
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