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Russell Brand Felt ‘Like an Animal in a Cave’ When He Met His Daughter

Russell Brand
Russell Brand at Esquire Townhouse, Carlton House Terrace on October 14, 2017 in London, England.

“Like an animal in a cave.” That’s how Russell Brand felt when he and wife Laura Gallagher welcomed their daughter Mabel in November 2016.

“I had such strong feeling of protectiveness and love that I didn’t know what to do with them,” the British comedian, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month. “I was protecting her from people she didn’t need to be protected from. I didn’t want her to be weighed. I didn’t want a label put on her. I didn’t want anyone near her.”

Brand, who details Mabel’s birth in his book, Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions, was caught off guard by his emotions when he first held the newborn. “It was like a drug in that it changed my consciousness in a way that I could never have anticipated,” he told Us. Nearly one year later, Brand says the feelings still haven’t gone away.

Russell Brand Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions

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And while only time will tell, it sounds like Mabel has inherited her dad’s larger-than-life personality.

“She’s very, very active. She’s domineering. She’s very strong,” he gushed to Us. “She shouts. She’s charming. She’s very social. She wants to talk to other people. She’s not not clingy or dependent.” And Brand credits the toddler for changing his life in an unexpected way.

“She made me recognize that I’m not the end of the line, that my daughter is the end of the line,” he revealed. “What I want and what I need is not important to what she wants and she needs. That’s a good thing because I can be a very self-obsessed guy.”

For more from Brand, including his marriage to Katy Perry, introduction to heroin, his nearly 10-year sex addiction and more, read Us’ full interview. Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions is on book shelves now. 

Related: Celebrity Babies of 2017

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