Hollywood star Anne Hathaway has reflected on grief, anxiety and parenthood, saying that growing older and becoming a mother has helped her approach life with greater calm, grace and perspective.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Hathaway spoke about navigating difficult periods with her husband Adam Shulman and how parenthood has changed the way she views herself.
A video of the conversation was shared on the show’s Instagram handle with the caption: “@annehathaway shares how her outlook has changed as she prepares to welcome her third child.”
Hathaway said she and Shulman have experienced several periods of grief together, which she described as something that can either “break” a couple or bring them closer.
She said the experiences have also made her more conscious of how precious life is, adding that she no longer wants to spend time on anything that does not feel genuine.
The The Princess Diaries star acknowledged that anxiety can still surface, but said she tries to remain connected to what she described as a larger arc of “love and wonder” — something she did not always know how to do.
Reflecting on pregnancy and motherhood, Hathaway said she was more caught up in the “choppy water” the first time around. She noted that people often judge themselves harshly when experiencing something for the first time because they have no previous experience to measure themselves against.
She said parenthood has also taught her that children learn from their parents, including how they treat themselves.
“If you don’t want them to suffer from that feeling of being really hard on themselves, you want to teach them grace with themselves, well, you better start with you,” she said.
Hathaway concluded that, compared with earlier stages of her life, she now has “a lot more calm, a lot more grace, and a lot more perspective.”
