Exclusive | Pete Davidson was a kid when he lost his dad on 9/11 now he wonders how to explain it to daughter he named after the FDNY hero

For Pete Davidson, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is wrapped in layers of grief and emotion — and even optimism.The “Saturday Night Live” alum was just 7 years old when he lost his father, Scott, a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights.“I thought, ‘Oh, he was an old guy.He’s 33,’” Davidson told The Post.

“But now I’m there, and I have a kid, and that would be like my kid not having her dad.“So this year is extra tough, but also extra beautiful because I get to spend the day with Scottie.It’ll be very healing and special.”Davidson, who turns 33 in November, welcomed Scottie, his daughter with model Elsie Hewitt, in December.

Although the couple split shortly after her birth, Davidson said they were united over their daughter’s name.“It was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie,” he said.“My dad’s name was Scott, but his nickname was Scotty.

When she arrived, we both looked at her and were like, ‘She looks like a Scottie.’ It’s nice to keep that name alive.”And his daughter already seems drawn to the grandfather she will never meet.“When Scottie was first born, we’d give her a bath in the sink, and there’s a picture of my dad above the sink.She would always stare at it,” Davidson revealed.“You’re like, ‘I don’t know if that’s because that’s the only picture there and she’s brand new and just observing things.’ But then I moved back to Brooklyn and put the picture in a different location.

When I walk around, Scottie always turns her head and looks at him.“I don’t know what I believe in, but I like to think that his presence is somehow around.”Davidson has not yet worked out how he will explain his father’s death to his daughter.“Luckily, I have some time,” the Staten Island native said.“Honestly, this year is way harder than it’s been in a really long time because I have Scottie, and now I’m the age that my dad was when he died.

So I...