Bode Miller Reveling In Life With Daughter

Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty

Much has changed for alpine skier Bode Miller since the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, and fatherhood is at the top of the list. Since revealing last year that he welcomed a daughter — Neesyn Dacey — in Feb. 2008, Bode has been a devoted dad, soaking up every moment he has with his 2-year-old little girl.

“It’s crazy,” he recently blogged. “It’s really fun to hang out with Dacey when she’s this age.”

“Kids learn so much so quickly and they watch so closely. They have a special relationship with their parents at this age. You basically are their entire world. And that’s kind of cool because by the time she’s 13 she will probably want nothing to do with me.”

Although Bode, 32, and Dacey’s mom were not romantically involved at the time of Dacey’s birth, Bode says he wouldn’t change a thing.

“The mother is a good friend of mine who I was seeing a while ago,” he explained. “We are no longer together [and] were kind of already doing our own thing when she found out she was pregnant.”

“We are just really good friends trying to be good parents. I obviously would have liked it to be an ideal situation where everything is planned and perfect, but it seems like a lot of stuff doesn’t work out that way. I’m happy the way it is.”

Currently competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Bode has already taken home one medal of each color.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Comments

You can definitely see the difference his daughter has made in Bode’s life. He seems to have matured a lot compared to the way he behaved during the Torino games to present. It’s nice to know that the birth of Dacey has finally grounded him and made him realize that he needs to act more responsibly.

- SportsFrog13 on February 21st, 2010

How is his daughter’s name pronounced? Is it nee-sin day-cee? Anyway, I love it when daddy’s love their little girls so much. I’m happy Bode and Dacey’s mom are working on being adults about raising their child apart.

- Luna on February 21st, 2010

How is Neesyn pronounced?

- Elzbieta on February 21st, 2010

Bode has grown up so much and I’m really happy for him to have proven himself at the olympics. So many people doubt him and I’d say he’s made them put their feet in their mouths.

- Kellykc on February 21st, 2010

Very mature attitude! Kudos to him and his former partner for being so mature.

- Mary-Helen on February 21st, 2010

I’ve never actually heard of this guy, but he seems like he is a wonderful daddy to his little girl
Her name is really something else. Neesyn Dacey? Hmmm… whatever floats your boat I guess.

- Sophia on February 22nd, 2010

Hmm, just heard about the guy last week before a skiing event. Didn’t really like him. It was an interview he came across bored, uninterested which made him come across rude and arrogant but then again everyone has their bad moments.

I like it that he is still involved in his daughters life, when many men choose not to.

- Mariasha on February 22nd, 2010

It is nice to see how parenthood matures and grounds some men. I did not like his attitude even before Turin ’06, but wow he is impressing me in Vancouver. He seems to have mellowed out. I think his horrible experience in Italy humbled him. Once Aksel DNS in the Combined Sunday I was totally rooting for Bode (never thought I’d do that). I’m glad he redeemed himself.

- LaKeisha on February 22nd, 2010

It’s all good when the parents work together even if they live apart.

- Mari on February 22nd, 2010

Luna, I’ve only heard him call the little girl “Dacey”, and he pronounces it like it rhymes with “Stacey”.

- Mama Llama on February 22nd, 2010

I have read articles where Bode says how hard it is to be away from his daughter. Sounds like a devoted father.

- Something About Baby on February 22nd, 2010

Aw doesn’t he sound like a doting dad. Very sweet post

@Mariasha: Nope he seems to be like that in most interviews that I see. Your observations were exactly what I noticed about him as well and what turned me off as a potential fan.

- Lola Marie on February 22nd, 2010

how very cute-i didn’t realize she was already two!

i think bode miller is uncomfortable in interview situations. we went to a race in vermont last year, and he was staying in the same lodge we were. he was very gregarious and friendly with his fans, very different than when he’s on tv…

- noam on February 22nd, 2010

I think he got anymore mellow about the 06 Olympics….he’s always been super mellow. He may not interview well, but don’t hold that against him. Just because someone isn’t a TV golden-boy doesn’t keep him from being brilliant on skis. Just sit back..relax..and enjoy.

- Diane on February 22nd, 2010

Leave it to a girl to have her daddy head over heels

She’ll proably have him wrapped around her finger as she gets older.

To noam: That was my guess. I think the media tore into him so bad after Turino (like they did with Jabcobellis) and he probably just has a mistrust of the media.

There is something about him that I like. I think he is just misunderstood…

- RIP Michael on February 22nd, 2010

RIP Michael, part of the reason why the media tore into Bode during the Torino Olympics was because he showed up hungover for the first of his events. If I remember correctly there was also a joke going around the Olympic Village that Bode was the resident frat boy because he wasn’t taking his competitions seriously and was more interested in partying. My brother was stationed nearby Turin at that time and he even mentioned having had seen him at one of the pubs around there.

- SportsFrog13 on February 23rd, 2010

He was the total brat at the last winter games. Maybe his little girl did grow him up. He seems much nicer these days. Being cute and cocky won’t pay the bills. Olympic Medals will. Looks like he finally got it.

- LW on February 23rd, 2010

@SportsFrog13. I know why the media tore into him (and maybe he deserved a little kick in the butt) and I didn’t agree with his behavior but I think the stigma of those games stayed with him long after Turino and that might not have been completely fair to him. One bad showing at the Olympics took the attention off his previous World Cup victories and what he accomplished afterward.

- RIP Michael on February 23rd, 2010

While I love all children, stories like this are popping up more and more frequently (celebrity or not), and our “celebration” of them is REALLY starting to concern me. Someone on a blog recently asked “since when did babies become souveniers of failed casual relationships?” and I couldn’t agree more! As a woman, I am well aware that pregnancy is not an aflliction like the flu that just “happemns” to us, and yet, more and more all over the news and media, I am seeing stories that imply just that. ThankGod for people like Kourtney Kardahsian (admitted she wasn’t careful about taking her pill) and Jessica Alba who stated “you KNOW when you’re being careful, and you’re aware of it when you’re not” who although found themselevs pregnant, atleast kept it real about the circumstances around it. After so many decades of people pushing for sexual safety awareness, why do we seem to be returning to a a state of “we won’t use anything, and if it happens, it happens”? I’m not saying this is the case with EVERYONE, but surley we are not so naieve as to believe that all of these babies born out of casual flings (Bode Miller; Jude Law; Matthew Knowels to name a few)are the result of people being dililgent about protection. This casual attitude about unsafe sex and “one night stand” parenthood is dangerous on so many levels.

- Patrice on February 24th, 2010