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Katherine Heigl Explains Why She "Never Saw" Her Daughter Naleigh Right After Adopting Her

Katherine Heigl adopted her daughter from South Korea when she was just 9 months old.

Katherine Heigl is looking back on her early days with her daughter Naleigh — and the fears she had as a new mom.

Katherine and Josh hold up Naleigh as a toddler

Back in 2009, Katherine and her husband, Josh Kelley, adopted Naleigh as an infant from South Korea.

A young Naleigh sits on a couch with Katherine

In the months that followed, Katherine says she had to go back to work on the set of Grey's Anatomy, and she worried it would impact her bond with her daughter.

A closeup of Katherine

"Naleigh came to us at 9 months, and three days later I got on a plane and went to work in Atlanta," Katherine shared on The View.

She continued, "At the time, becoming a new mother, I was just like, 'I got it! I can handle this.' They've told us we can have it all. We can have careers and have families, and it's all going to be great."

A closeup of Katherine

Unfortunately, Katherine was left feeling as if she "never saw" her little girl.

"I never saw that baby. I was at work with three triplets who were playing my goddaughter, and I spent more time with them than I did with my new daughter," Katherine admitted.

A closeup of Katherine

She continued, "She bonded with my husband, of course. He was with her. So, I was always afraid that I had missed that opportunity to really bond with her and that she didn’t love me."

Coincidentally, it was another appearance on The View nearly a decade ago that help ease some of her parenting fears.

Naleigh can be seen running to her mom on stage with outstretched arms

During the 2012 interview, when Naleigh was just a toddler, the little girl ran onstage to be with her mom — which helped Katherine see that they did share a bond.

Naleigh sits on her mom's lap on stage

Watching the clip back during her recent appearance, she teared up, acknowledging just how meaningful it was.

Katherine wipes away a tear

You can hear all that Katherine had to say below.

View this video on YouTube

The View / Via youtube.com