Heather McDonald isn’t afraid to put it all out there. To promote her second book of comedic essays, My Inappropriate Life, the laugh-out-loud star stopped by Us Weekly‘s New York City offices on Tuesday, Feb. 5, and opened up about why raising three young children in southern California isn’t always easy.
“Most moms would never admit that they made a mistake and most moms would protect their children, but I am not most moms,” the 42-year-old After Lately personality said. “I have to sell a book and I’m very honest that I’m not a perfect mother, but neither are my kids.”
McDonald, who is one of eight writers on E!’s Chelsea Lately, joked that her coworkers are often in awe of her parenting skills. “Lots of times they’re like, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ And I say, ‘Neither do I, and look this good, and stay this modest, but I do.'”
The late-night crew is a tight-knit bunch, thanks in large part to host Chelsea Handler‘s frequent get-togethers. “Working on Chelsea Lately is very fun, and as you know, we’re a very social group of people. Chelsea’s very generous and invites people over, but she doesn’t invite people all of the time,” McDonald told Us. “It feels like the person who is left out often is the married mother of three named Heather McDonald — even though I’m such a delight!”
Eight days after her in-studio interview, McDonald invited Us to the Akvinta Vodka-sponsored launch party for My Inappropriate Life at Emerson Theatre in Hollywood. The New York Times bestselling author’s famous friends Kris Jenner and Gretchen Rossi also attended the star-studded bash.
McDonald shares a series of funny family stories in the follow-up to her 2010 debut, You’ll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again: One Woman’s Painfully Funny Quest to Give It Up.
“When you send your kids to a Catholic school it’s like having a bunch of little narcs running around the house. So my son goes, ‘You know what you should give up for Lent? It has to be something that’s really hard, something you have every day.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ He’s like, ‘Chardonnay!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, God doesn’t want you to give up your medication,’ and he’s like, ‘Really? Well, God gave up his life! Jesus gave up his life — you can give up Chardonnay.'”
My Inappropriate Life is available for purchase now. The third season of After Lately premieres Monday, Feb. 25, at 10:30 p.m. EST on the E! network.
