Oscar nominated actress Emily Watson, 39, (Punch Drunk Love, Angela’s Ashes, Breaking the Waves) and her husband of ten years, Jack Waters, welcomed daughter Juliet in October or November. We had previously reported the pregnancy, but hadn’t heard any news until CBB reader Victoria sent us a new interview with Emily. Some highlights:
- Emily had a hard time with journalists constantly asking her if she’d like children, especially as she was getting older and had been married for a few years. She says, "[It felt] quite personal. Especially if you say that yes, you do want children. You have to say if you’re actually trying for them. And you don’t always especially want to tell the whole world how that’s going."
- She’s glad she became a mother later in life: "I don’t really regret not having Juliet earlier. Sometimes I feel like it might have been physically easier at 22, but I’ve had a chance to build a wonderful career that’s not going away. I feel satisfied, you know? I’ve had a crack at things. I’ve seen the world."
- Emily’s not looking forward to the discipline part of parenting: "I’m dreading the disciplining. I think that small children learn before anything else to become brilliantly sophisticated at emotional manipulation. And that prospect of trying to establish boundaries makes me nervous. But it has to be done. People give their children too many choices; I think it’s much better to tell them to do this or not to do that. Being too tolerant is really unfair on the child because they’re made socially dysfunctional. They don’t understand where the limits are. That said, I’ll probably spoil her rotten.’
-Motherhood scared her initially: "At first everything felt completely different and terrifying…It seemed so vitally important to just protect this little thing. I remember very distinctly the first time I went for a walk with her in the park, and everybody coming towards you suddenly became a potential attacker. You feel so protective. It’s amazing. I hadn’t realised I’d now be on 24-hour call for the rest of my life. And occasionally you do just think, "Oh Jesus, I’d really love to take a couple of days off. But life returns to normal…Friends always say you don’t realise how robust your baby is until you drop it."
Source: Telegraph
Thanks to CBB reader Victoria.
