Larry Birkhead compared his romance with Anna Nicole Smith to a “cult” in a rare podcast interview.
The photographer opened up to Bunny Zoe’s “Dumb Blonde” listeners Monday about spending time at the late model’s home, along with her attorney Howard K. Stern.
When Bunny Zaw, 46, speculated that the lawyer was “a little bit in love” with his client, the 53-year-old said: “It felt a bit like a cult. It felt like we were in some kind of cult.”
Birkhead said he resisted becoming just a member of Smith’s “inner circle.”
“I remained independent (or) tried to be as much as possible. I was still working and doing my own thing. I wasn’t asking her for money or anything,” he explained.
“The people in the house were getting their bills paid,” Birkhead continued. “But at the same time, the people at home were working for her.”
He recalled Stern working “tirelessly” for Birkhead and acting like a “father figure” to his son, Daniel, but went on to criticize Stern’s alleged “involvement” in “stepping into the realm of[Birkhead and Smith’s]relationship.”
Birkhead claimed that Stern “didn’t have a room” at Smith’s house, but slept on the sofa in the downstairs bedroom.
He accused lawyers of “staying there” every day to “figure out what (they) are doing.”
Birkhead also spoke about how “difficult” it was to date Smith for two years while keeping his romance a secret.
He recalled that Smith portrayed herself as “an available goddess who people wanted to be with.”
The “Anna Nicole Show” star “projected” this onto her fans as “part of her image,” Birkhead said.
He and Smith did not make their relationship public until after Smith’s death in February 2007, after which Stern claimed to be the father of her daughter, Dannielynn.
After DNA testing proved Birkhead’s paternity, he continued to raise Birkhead, now 18, as a single father.
Over the years, Birkhead has posted rare photos of Dannielynn as a teenager, including photos of her re-wearing her late parents’ jewelry and iconic dresses.
On a 2017 “20/20” special, Birkhead detailed his decision to take Dannielynn out of the spotlight.
“People think she has millions of dollars,” he told viewers. “If Dannielynn inherits something that she’s entitled to through her mother, that’s fine, but we’re not going to sit around and wait for something to happen.”
