Sure, they rake in millions at the box office; have women throw their underwear at them on stage; and are given the royal treatment because they are household names. But when it comes down to what their most important role in life is, most male celebrities say it is being a dad.
This week I have been struck by how many popular male “stars” have spoken out about fatherhood and the joys that come with the “blessing” of being a parent.
Just a few days ago Matt Lauer announced that he and wife Annette are expecting their third child. The Today host confirmed the news in an interview with Sunday’s New York Times magazine. He and Annette are already parents to son Jack, 5, and daughter Romy, who turns 3 in October.
“I was on Today for five years before I had children,” Lauer tells the Times magazine. “And back then the job took up a larger slice of the pie graph of my life than was healthy. When I had kids that immediately changed. It flipped.” Lauer went on to say that his wife and children (not his career) are the center of his universe.
Two days later I read an interview rocker Travis Barker did with a magazine following the announcement that he filed for divorce from his wife, actress Shanna Moakler. In the interview Barker went into detail about how his children are his top priority… something he says was not shared by his wife.
“I think the priority should be the kids. My No. 1 priority is my children – more than the studio, more than my clothing line, more than my skateboard room or my Cadillac, anything. We didn’t have that same feeling. She didn’t prioritize our life and our family in the same way I do. I came from a broken home. Through the process of my parents getting a divorce, my mom died (of cancer). And, that being said, I want everything I didn’t have growing up. It would be crazy for me not to. I wanted much more for my children. I wanted a mom (for my kids) that would wake up before 3 in the afternoon. I wanted a mom who wouldn’t stumble in at 4 in the morning after me not knowing where she is.”
From what I saw on the MTV show that chronicled their marriage, I would agree that Barker doted on his children, but the fact is I don’t think any of us will really know what truly went on in their household and if Barker indeed loves his children as much as he claims to I hope that he puts their best interest first as he navigates through the choppy waters of divorce.
Finally, dear, dear, Ben Affleck (who forsook me when he married actress Jennifer Garner) he told recently told reporters that fatherhood has changed his life in ways he can’t describe.
“Ben Affleck is a Changed Man,” magazine covers shout. And the actor agrees.
“I love being a father. It’s wonderful. It all sounds like platitudes and clichés, and that’s because they’re the truth.”
Affleck says his 8-month-old daughter Violet is the “love of his life.” He went on to say that the rewards that come with fatherhood far outweigh anything that is offered on Hollywood movie sets… and he adds the challenges are too. Affleck told reporters that a few days ago, Garner left him in charge of the baby – but first explained how to feed her.
“(Jennifer said,) ‘You take the peaches in the thing and you stir that up and you put that in with a little oatmeal and then put that in with a little bit of the crushed pears.’ Then she looked at me and said, ‘In all seriousness, is this too complicated?’ That’s my wife.”
Very sweet… and to think I thought he would be saying that about me. I guess I never really stood a chance.