There's no way around it: It's impossible to have kids without getting your hands dirty. You can't fully appreciate what it's like until you're in the thick of parenthood yourself, and only then does it become truly baffling just how glam some celebrity parents make it seem on social media. Behind the perfectly decorated nurseries and the professional photo shoots, we know that there's a tired mom who's getting spit up on around the clock â but only certain celeb moms have been brave enough to admit when it's happening to them.
Don't get us wrong: We'd love to live in the daydream that is doing our makeup every morning and always looking perfectly put-together, but it doesn't happen all that often â at least, not while our kids are little. So we're extra thankful for the stars who are willing to share the reality of the situation, even if might not always be pretty.
It's so easy to feel alone in our parenting experiences when things get tough, and that makes us feel even more seen by the stars who aren't afraid to show just how unglamorous being a mom or dad can really be.
Read on for the celebrities who give us their no-filter takes on raising kids â dirty diapers, sleepless nights, messy houses, and all.
Kristen Bell
One of the most brutally honest celebrities when it comes to parenting is Kristen Bell â so much so that she's been accused of oversharing in the past. Still, that hasn't stopped her. Whether she's talking about the creative ways that husband Dax Shepard has helped her out of a breastfeeding bind or even opening up to her daughters â Lincoln, 9, and Delta, 8 â about her experiences with hallucinogenic mushrooms, there's never a dull moment with this lady.
Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn, who is mom to 1-year-old Malcolm with comedian John Mulaney, recently shared how brutal it is to parent a teething baby. Taking to Instagram Stories in December, Olivia shared bleary, late-night videos from times she and John had gotten up with their baby boy because painful gums were keeping him awake. We know they all had to be tired!
Hilary Duff
In an essay she wrote for Refinery29 in 2020, mom of three Hilary Duff admitted something that a lot of parents might feel but are too afraid to say out loud.
"I love my kids more than anything. I cannot imagine not being a parent. But I don't always like them," she wrote at the time. "I'm constantly cleaning up after them and they're always running in separate directions and it's absolutely exhausting. It's also the best, most rewarding thing."
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence definitely isn't the only mom out there who feels a good bit of guilt as she navigates parenthood, and she opened up about that feeling during an interview as part of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series.
"Every day of being a mom, I feel awful. I feel guilty," she told her interviewer, fellow mom and actress Viola Davis. "I'm playing with [my son] and I'm like, 'Is this what he wants to be doing? Should we be outside? We're outside. What if he's cold? What if he's going to get sick? Should we be inside? Is this enough? Is this developing your brain enough?'"
Blake Lively
Blake Lively, who is pregnant with her fourth child with husband Ryan Reynolds, compared living with babies to "living with a drug addict" in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"You never know when you're gonna get crapped on or when you're gonna get a big smile or when that smile immediately turns into hysterics. It might be like living with a drug addict," she quipped.
Justin Timberlake
One of the least glamorous parts about parenting has got to be potty training, and during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018, Justin Timberlake shared a story about an incident that happened when his son Silas climbed into bed with him and wife Jessica Biel before he was fully trained. In the wee hours of the morning (no pun intended), Silas put his hand right on Justin's face.
"And so I feel the hand, and he comes in and he hugs me, and right on my back I'm like, 'That's really wet,'" Justin said. "I was like, 'Hey man, good morning.'"
Kelly Clarkson
Though she has two kids, Kelly Clarkson was not a fan of pregnancy, and she doesn't care who knows it.
"Anytime I see someone pregnant, I just pray for them. It was literally the worst moments of my life," she told People in 2017. "I'm not kidding â I wish I were that girl who [had good memories of pregnancy]. But no. Nope. Don't miss it. It's as if someone was in an accident â they're pregnant, I'm like, 'Oh my God.'"
Drew Barrymore
During the early days of the pandemic, Drew Barrymore said she really struggled trying to homeschool her daughters, Olive and Frankie. Making an appearance on Today, she later admitted that she cried every day.
"It was like every church and state, it was the messiest plate I've ever held in my life. I had to be the teacher, the parent, the disciplinarian, the caretaker," she said. "I didn't think I needed to respect and appreciate teachers any more than I did."
Channing Tatum
After splitting from ex Jenna Dewan, Channing Tatum struggled with being a single dad to his daughter, Everly, and wondering if he'd be able to relate to her in the way that she needed.
"I know that I liked to act and play make-believe and magical things, but I just didn't know if I was going to be able to meet her on her level, especially now that I'm a single dad," he told V magazine. "Was I going to be able to do any of the stuff that a mother should do? That a mother, as a woman, can relate to her as?"
Ashley Graham
At no point during her time as a mom of three boys has model Ashley Graham ever tried to pretend it's easy, and at the same time, she's also been a champion for public breastfeeding, regardless of the criticism she might get. Remember when she pumped in an Uber not long after her first son, Isaac, was born?
Meghan Trainor
Not long after Meghan Trainor and husband Daryl Sabara welcomed their first son, Riley, she realized that she was "boiling" him on their morning walks by overdressing him, causing him to come home with a heat rash.
"We would take him on these walks out here in California, and I would come home and he would have these little red bumps all over him," she said on The DeGeneres Ellen Show. "I sent pictures to my pediatrician after the third day in a row, and I was like, 'What's going on? I rub cream on him. I don't know what this is.' I was boiling my son on my morning walks. So don't do that!"
Jennifer Garner
When it comes to celeb moms, Jennifer Garner has always been one of the most relatable, especially when she shared this moment in 2019. This is the outfit she wore to take her daughter to the bus stop first thing in the morning. Yep, we've all been there!
Michelle Branch
Celebrity or not, mom shaming is something that many parents will encounter at some point or another, and singer Michelle Branch quickly experienced that when breastfeeding her then-6-week-old daughter in a public park.
"It's not like I walked into the crowd and whipped my tits out," she said in a tweet. "Being a mom is hard enough. Can we not judge one another for how we feed our babies?"
Beyoncé
When it comes to being a working mom, Beyoncé knows that the struggle is real, as she told Elle in 2019.
"I think the most stressful thing for me is balancing work and life. Making sure I am present for my kids â dropping Blue off at school, taking Rumi and Sir to their activities, making time for date nights with my husband, and being home in time to have dinner with my family â all while running a company can be challenging," she said. "Juggling all of those roles can be stressful, but I think that's life for any working mom."
Chrissy Teigen
Though many think that moms should be able to immediately connect with their babies as soon as they're born, Chrissy Teigen has admitted that it didn't happen that easily for her with kids Luna and Miles. When she didn't bond instantly with Luna, fellow parents told her it would when she had a boy, and then Miles was born.
"I was taught that this little boy would want nothing but his mommy, and that didn't happen with me," Chrissy told SheKnows in 2020. "And that's when I started to realize, slowly, that there is no rhyme or reason. You just never know."
