What to Know
As a mom of one, I never have to worry about my kids fighting over who is the favorite child. But for moms who have multiple kids, it is something that comes up. Comedian Katherine Ryan, a mom of four, is all too familiar with this dilemma. Except for her, it’s not a dilemma at all — she knows exactly which of her kids is her favorite. And she has a very specific reason for feeling that way. During an interview with podcast host Davina McCall, Ryan gave her reasons for her choice, and honestly, they don’t seem that controversial. But the clip has a lot of people up in arms that she would ever say the quiet part of parenting out loud.
She admitted she chose her favorite for a specific reason.
In the interview, she spoke about struggling financially when her oldest daughter was born and how difficult it is for her as a mother to imagine her children having to live without everything they want or need because of money.
“Violet’s my favorite, and I say that,” Ryan admitted about her 17 year old, to which the host replied, “Oh my god, wait, stop. What?”
McCall shared that her kids will often press her to tell her which of them is her favorite, but she would “never” actually admit it out loud. “That is amazing,” she said.
“I can say it. Violet’s my favorite. She’s the firstborn daughter,” Ryan reiterated. “And I think people don’t like that. That’s a very provocative thing to say as well.”
Ryan shares three other children, son Fred, who was born in 2021, and daughters Fenna, who was born in 2022 and Holland, who was born in 2025 with partner Bobby Koostra.
She revealed that she doesn’t “worry about it hurting my other children’s feelings because I go, ‘Those are nepo babies.’ Like, guess what? She’s my favorite.” Ryan pointed out that her younger children “get to go to private school” and “grow up with a dad,” which Violet didn’t.
“Life’s not fair. She’s my favorite.”
McCall seemed to understand where Ryan was coming from, acknowledging that each of her children have “privileges” that the others don’t.
The clip has recently resurfaced.
The initial interview aired back in October 2025, when Katherine Ryan was still pregnant with her fourth child. But the “Begin Again” official Facebook page shared the brief clip of her admitting that daughter Violet was her favorite on July 13, 2026, and it created a firestorm in the comment section.
“No, absolutely not, you can not pick a favorite child. You love them equally for their own individual personalities,” one Facebook user wrote.
“I have 5 children (2 girls and 3 boys all adults now ) and I adore each and every one . They are individuals and gifts to me from God. Never once have I ever had a fave . I gave birth to them all and love them equally and I cannot get my head round how any mother/ father can have a fave child,” another person wrote.
“I felt really sad listening to this. Nepo babies can still be deeply hurt and damaged irreparably by their mothers.”
However, some commenters defended Katherine Ryan.
“She’s more protective over the eldest because she doesn’t have her dad in her life and they went on the journey together whereas the younger kids got the better version of her that had already achieved success,” someone wrote.
“I rotate my favorite depending on whether they have or haven’t annoyed me that day,” one person joked.
“Well at least one woman has admitted it,” another commenter wrote.
“The comments…. Like as if half the people in the world don’t know who the favorite child within their family is,” another person added.
READ NEXT: Toddler Girl Realizes She’s No Longer ‘the Baby’ & Tries To Swat Her New Little Brother Away
