Larry Birkhead Is Doing Just Fine Without Anna Nicole Smith's Money

The Jan. 17 episode of Lifetime’s new limited series Hopelessly in Love, shines a spotlight on the bizarre relationship between Anna Nicole Smith and Larry Birkhead, who fathered a child with the former Playboy Playmate shortly before her death in 2007.

Details about the duo’s romance surfaced during a contentious paternity battle over Anna’s then 5-month-old baby girl, Dannielynn, who was later proven to be Larry’s biological daughter.

Though he’s given a handful of interviews since gaining custody of Dannielynn, there are still a lot of questions surrounding Larry’s two-year affair with Anna and his life now, including how he makes his money.

The 46-year-old worked for a long time as a celebrity photographer, which is how he first crossed paths with Anna. Nowadays, Larry still has his photography career minus the celebrity aspect.

He lives in rural Kentucky with 13-year-old Dannielynn, who makes one public appearance a year at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Gala, which is the event where her parents met in 2004. Larry also dabbles in real estate, but is mainly focused on providing a normal life for his daughter.

"She loves school. She loves her friends. I just hope that she dreams big and accomplishes a lot," the proud dad told Inside Edition back in 2017. But he's also very protective of his only child.

"I communicate if people ask, I send pictures, I try to keep people updated [on Dannielynn], but there are some people that Anna didn’t even really know that went out and wrote books about her," he previously revealed on Wendy Williams. "You’ve got to keep your guard up… You don’t know who’s genuine and who’s not."

In an interview about Hopelessly in Love, Larry said the docuseries provided an opportunity for him to tell his and Anna’s story in the way he always wanted. "We went back through the vaults and of all the tapes and archives... you'll see when sparks flew and you'll also hear about when dishes flew…" he explained on GMA.

"You'll also hear Anna for the first time, publicly acknowledge that we were in a relationship because I didn't get that… I was always behind the scenes so it was important for me," he added.

The centerfold was reportedly worth $5 million when she died of a drug overdose in a Florida hotel room. It’s unclear how much of that money went to Dannielynn (Anna’s only other child, son Daniel, died several months before she did), but Larry once clarified that they live off his salary.

The Louisville native recalled watching a YouTube video with Dannielynn that named her as one of the 10 richest kids in America. "Then she wanted to go to the mall. And I’m like, 'No, it’s not that. Trust me, it’s not that,'" he told Inside Edition. 

And despite plenty of offers, Dannielynn isn’t making her own money yet. "I’ve had companies call me since [she appeared in a Guess campaign] and ask for her to model, and that answer’s no," he shared on 20/20 a couple of years ago. "She doesn’t show any interest in it. She wants to be a kid."

Larry and Anna’s Hopelessly in Love episode airs Friday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.