NEWSAnna Nicole Smith's Baby Daddy Larry Birkhead Recalls 'Difficult' and 'Cult-Like' Relationship With the Late Star
Anna Nicole Smith's ex Larry Birkhead recalled their 'cult-like' relationship in a new interview.
March 24 2026, Published 3:34 p.m. ET
Larry Birkhead compared his relationship to the late Anna Nicole Smith to being "cult-like."
The photographer, 53, appeared on the March 23 episode of Bunnie Xo's podcast "Dumb Blonde" and looked back on his liaison with the famed model.
Larry Birkhead Didn't Want to Be a Part of Anna Nicole Smith's 'Entourage'
Anna Nicole Smith 'did not want to share the spotlight,' Larry Birkhead said.
“It kind of felt a little cult-like, like we were in some kind of cult,” Birkhead said, adding he spent much time at Smith's home alongside her attorney Howard K. Stern.
"She did not want to share the spotlight she was getting and the attention she was getting with anybody else because that was where she felt loved," he said, also noting he didn't want to be just another individual in Smith's "entourage."
Anna Nicole Smith Died in 2007 at the Age of 39
Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007.
"You're taking that love away when you're taking a piece of whatever [her fame] away. That's why I think she was the way that she was," Birkhead went on. "I maintained independence [or] I tried to as far as I could. I still worked and did my own thing. I wasn't asking her for money, that kind of stuff."
“The people in the house, they were having their bills paid,” he remembered. “But at the same time, people in the house were working for her.”
Smith — who died in 2007 — and Birkhead shared daughter Dannielynn, who was born in September 2006.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Dannielynn Birkhead's Paternity Suit Captivated Fans
Dannielynn Birkhead was born in September 2006.
Birkhead and the actress dated on and off from 2005 to 2006. As for Stern, 57, he was the domestic partner, agent and lawyer for the blonde bombshell for much of her career.
A legal dispute over Dannielynn's paternity involving Stern and Birkhead occurred in 2007, with the cameramen ultimately being declared as the father.
Birkhead further recalled on the podcast how his relationship with Smith was kept under wraps.
Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead Had an On-Again, Off-Again Relationship
A paternity suit involving Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead occurred in 2007.
"I winded up dating her for like two years… The reason [people don't know we dated for so long] is because when Anna always did interviews – and you can find dozens of them out there – she was this available goddess that people desired to be with," he dished.
"When she went out on a red carpet, that was what she projected. Like, you would want to be with this woman if you could be with this woman. That was part of her image," he continued about Smith's public persona. "That was part of her thing. She said it because she wanted to appear to be available and for you to think you could have a chance with Anna Nicole."
