Gabrielle Union's Spot-On Analogy For Being a Tired Mom Will Make You Feel So Seen

By Victoria Messina
Peggy Sirota for Women’s Health
Peggy Sirota for Women’s Health

Gabrielle Union may have only welcomed her first child three months ago, but she's already got her parenting style down to a science. The 46-year-old actress recently sat down with Women's Health magazine to chat about her infertility struggles, what she looked for in a surrogate, and how she's raising baby Kaavia, and moms new and old can definitely learn a thing or two from her revelations. Read on for a handful of standout quotes from Gabrielle's interview, then head over to WomensHealthMag.com to read the entire March 2019 cover story.

  • On the side effects of IVF: "My face looked like the surface of the moon, small chunks of hair were falling out. At 9 a.m. I had a flat stomach. By noon, I looked like I was 5 months pregnant."
  • On her fertility issues and committing to surrogacy: "There's nothing more that I wanted than to cook my own baby . . . the idea of [surrogacy] felt like surrendering to failure."

  • On what she looked for in a surrogate: "Some people care about the race, religion, or food habits of their surrogate. I was like, 'I want a reader.'"
  • On what she feared most about revealing her surrogate pregnancy: "People want to see the bump, hear that you got hemorrhoids. They want to know you're like them. I was like, 'This is going to seem like the most Hollywood sh*t ever. Will I be embraced as a mom?' It's terrifying."

  • On how she's raising her daughter: "I want to let her be free. I want to instill in her morals, values. And then I want to give her space to fill in those gaps, fall on her ass, and make mistakes. Get an F because she didn't study. Pick the wrong dude. Pick the wrong friends and figure it out. I don't want to be super judge-y."

  • On what is really feels like to be a new mom: "[It's] like that second day in Vegas where you're all, 'I'm not sleeping Saturday away. I'm going to day-party and rally!' But your body is like, 'Are you crazy?' You're exhausted and you kind of start to feel a little ill because you haven't slept."
  • On why becoming a mother in her 40s was the right move: "Any earlier and the FOMO would have greatly influenced how I parented. I've seen it. I've done it. I've done it well. I've gotten all the T-shirts. Now I'm in the right mindset and mental space, and I'm open to being the best mom I can be."

Sweet Photos of Gabrielle and Baby Kaavia