Heidi Klum Says She Wasn’t Calling Seal An Absentee Father In Redbook

Heidi Klum is on the November cover of Redbook, and as per the laws of monthly magazines, this week brought us a sneak peek of the cover, some images from Klum's shoot, and three quotes from the interview. One of her confessions from this advance-glance has stoked the internet's collective fire. Here's what Klum has to say about what her life has been like since she separated from Seal in 2012. "Obviously, things have changed, but they haven't changed drastically. [Seal] was never your typical dad who left for work in the morning with his briefcase and would be home by dinnertime every night. He traveled a lot. The kids knew it was part of his job. I'm a mom and dad at the same time." In the days since Redbook released the cover-story preview on its site earlier this week, many have taken umbrage at Klum's remarks, particularly those last few lines. Some media outlets interpreted Klum as saying she'd been forced to play dual parenting roles because Seal had been an absentee father. Now, Klum is speaking out against these accusations. "It is frustrating to me that some other media outlets are taking what was said in the article to suggest that I was aiming to malign my children's father. Because I was not! In the article, I say that, as a single parent, 'I'm a mom and a dad at the same time.' And that is the case when I'm alone with our kids...and I assume the same rings true when they are with their dad," Klum told People in a statement today. "As a single parent, you have so many roles — you are wearing all the hats. The mom hat, the dad hat, the chef hat, the teacher hat, the disciplinarian hat, the clown hat, and the work hat. You have your hands full, but you just try your best because it's all about raising happy and healthy kids. That's all we both want," Klum continued. If Klum's statements to Redbook at all seem to imply lingering ill-will between her and Seal, Klum clarified that's not the case. She told People that she's happy for her ex-husband and has met his girlfriend, Erika Packer, multiple times at birthday parties for Klum and Seal's kids. No drama here, folks.