Busy Philipps shares daughters Birdie, 10, and Cricket, 5, with husband Marc Silverstein — but she felt like a single parent for a long time.
“He was not understanding how to be a dad and, in fact, didn’t try,” E’s Busy Tonight host told the November issue of Parents magazine. “When I told him I wanted to have a second child, he said, ‘Fine, but it’s all on you.’ That was so heartbreaking.”
Philipps and the producer celebrated their 11-year anniversary in June. “Marriage is hard, but especially when you have kids . . . You’re going to go through periods when you’re not into it, but there always has to be one person willing to fight,” the Cougar Town alum revealed. “I went to Marc several times and said, ‘I cannot do this anymore. Something has to change, and it’s you.’”
Silverstein was willing to put in the work. “We’ve had a lot of serious discussions and counseling, and he’s incredibly participatory now in a way I don’t think he could’ve imagined before,” she told the publication. “We’re a work in progress but trying our best, and that’s the most you can do.”
When the going gets tough at home, Philipps doesn’t reach for the Chardonnay. “This may be controversial, but I’m just going to say it: I’m so f—king over the culture of mommy wine and glasses that say ‘Mommy juice,’ she declared. “You go to a preschool birthday party at 10 a.m., and it’s like, ‘Does anyone want a wine cooler?’ Um, no, girlfriend. I want to make sure my daughter doesn’t fall off this play structure. It’s such a weird thing.”
The former Dawson’s Creek actress noted that she does love a good margarita though. “I just don’t think the two things need to be tied together,” she said of parenting and liquor. “I’m the best mom when I’m sober.”
Philipps, who will happily share her thoughts on ultimately any topic; also opened up about how her shape has changed since becoming a mother. “I’m able to intellectually appreciate the fact that my body has done a truly incredible thing, but I don’t love the extra skin,” she admitted. “People say, ‘Wear it like a badge!’ Um, yeah, that doesn’t speak to me. I’d rather have a flat stomach.”
