Rachel Bilson on co-parenting with Hayden Christensen – “It’s a tricky one”
Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen split last year, after ten years together. The couple are now working out a new normal when it comes to parenting their three-year-old daughter, Briar Rose.
Figuring it out
Rachel spoke to People Magazine about this huge shift in her family’s dynamics, explaining that they haven’t got a handle on how things should work, as yet.
“We’re still kind of trying to figure it out. It’s a tricky one. And I don’t know that there is any right way, necessarily.”
Rachel told the mag their new approach was a “work in progress” and notes that she and Hayden are trying to address their separation – and new logistics with Briar – in the most age-appropriate way possible.
“We say Mummy has a house and Daddy has a house, but she’s pretty young to have an in-depth conversation,” she admits.
Read more about co-parenting:
- How to handle co-parenting when you’re at war with your ex
- 8 apps that make co-parenting a whole lot easier
- Lindy Klim shares familiar co-parenting feelings as she sends kids off to ex
- Chris Pratt and Anna Faris’ co-parenting involves lots of “love and happiness”
Take two
The former OC and Hart of Dixie star is currently popping up on screen in dramedy Take Two, alongside Eddie Cibrian (who you might know as Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glandville’s ex – or singer LeAnn Rimes’ husband).
“It’s a really fun take on a procedural,” she told ET of the show. “There’s a lot of comedy, and it’s also a lot of fun because you really are solving cases.”
In a case of art possibly imitating life, Rachel says her character is rebuilding herself, after a big shift.
“Take Two is very poignant for my character in particular because she is trying to reinvent herself and her career and start over. Essentially, it’s take two.”
Like mother, like daughter
Rachel says she lived through the same transition as a child, and it’s helped model some excellent behaviour that she’s trying to mirror.
“My mum was a great mum. My parents went through a divorce and she showed me nothing but love so I was totally secure and okay when she did.”
She hints that things have been a little fraught since she and Hayden split, a situation that will ring true with lots of other separated couples.
“Most important for me is that Briar is okay and secure and stable. No matter what I’m dealing with or how much it hurts or how much anger there is, it’s just about her,” she explained.
“Briar needs to feel loved from the people she loves the most,” the star explains. “She has that love that is unconditional so I think we’re doing okay.”
Number one Mum
The mum-of-one says her daughter is a brilliant combination of both her parents.
“She’s strong-willed and pretty funny like me, and she’s super athletic like her dad!”
“Being a mum is number one for me, and it always will be,” she told People. “I’m doing everything right now. I’m working and I have my girl … I don’t really know what’s next, but I’m enjoying the moment.”
