Before you become a parent, people will often tell you that you have no idea the kind of love you're about to experience, but that instant connection doesn't always happen at birth — even if you happen to be a celebrity parent. And now that Bradley Cooper is opening up about the way he really felt about his daughter when she was born, admitting he "didn't really" love her until several months later, people have a lot of opinions about it.
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Bradley opened up about how he felt when his daughter was born, sharing his feelings on a podcast.
While talking to host Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, Bradley shared how he felt when his now 6-year-old daughter, Lea de Seine (whom he shares with ex Irina Shayk), was born, admitting that at first, he didn't get it when parents said they would "die in a second" for their children.
At first, the connection didn't exist.
"The first eight months — I don’t even know if I really love the kid. It’s dope. It’s cool. I’m watching this thing morph," he said. "That’s my experience. Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if someone came in with a gun?"
His feelings did change, though.
"And then all of a sudden, it’s like no question," he said.
It may have taken a few months for him to get there, but now, it sounds like Bradley adores Lea just as much as any dad loves his daughter.
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People had some mixed feelings about his comments.
Some folks didn't think it was something he should have admitted so publicly, where his daughter would likely see it someday, but others applauded his honesty.
"Society needs to be more honest about the difficulties of parenting. It's presented as this magical crucial experience with only upsides," one person tweeted. "More parents being honest about it would lead to people making better decisions about becoming a parent, not everyone is cut out for it."
In the end, Bradley said he just wished he could have had more warning about what being a dad was really like.
"I just needed someone to say, like, ‘We’re gonna drop this massive anchor," he said on the podcast. "I’m like, ‘Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in.’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor and we’re gonna drop it.’ Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on. Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you."
Being a parent is a life change like no other, and you're never the same after your baby is born — maybe we all could have used a little warning?
