Kelly Brook shares how choosing to stay child-free has impacted her friendships – but why she has no regrets
Kelly Brook is opening up about her reasons for remaining child-free.
In a new interview with Prima magazine, the actress and media personality, 45, has said she 'shocks' readers with how 'blunt' and honest she is about not having children with husband Jeremy Parisi. 'Childless by choice', she feels relieved not to be 'burdened' by the challenges of trying to conceive.
Some startlingly frank words from her maternal grandmother assured her that it was right to ignore others' opinions and make her own judgments. 'When I asked my grandma if she regretted anything in life, because that’s what you ask octogenarians, she said – very honestly – that her biggest regret was having children,' she said to The Mirror's Notebook magazine.
'I wasn’t expecting it! I think she felt that having children had taken up a lot of her life. I was about 36 at the time and thinking, "God, am I ever going to have children? If so, maybe I should just get on with it now?" Then I thought, "Actually, I don’t think I want them," and hearing that somebody had regrets, and that I might not regret not having children, made me feel really happy about my choice.'
Lost friendships
However, there are still bumps on the road, especially when it comes to her social life. 'The most difficult thing for me not having children over the last 20 years has been losing friends because your lives are so different,' she revealed, and she regrets growing apart from those she was close to. 'It’s sad in a way. I miss a lot of my old friends who have kids.'
It's not the same when they spend time together again, either. 'When I go for lunch and I’m watching them mother their children, I get a bit like, "I want the attention, you’re my friends." I don’t want to sit there watching people parent.'
Conception challenges
Past attempts to start a family were not fruitful and left her traumatised. 'In my 20s and 30s, I had miscarriages and past relationships that took their toll on me, physically and emotionally.
'It affected my life, my career and how I looked at myself; it made me feel like a bit of a failure. It made me judge my partners negatively, by how they responded to it. I never had a really positive experience with pregnancies and trying for children.'
Generally, she's tired of the conversation. 'I just got so sick of being asked about it. "We’re not having children" closes off this conversation. People are shocked you can be that blunt about it, but that’s where we’re at.'
Finding kinship with other women who have chosen the child-free life has been affirming. 'We’re not saying that having children is a bad thing. Obviously, it’s not. [But] a lot of women have reached out to me since I was on Loose Women [in 2018] and said, "I’m the same; thank you for talking about it and thank you for being honest about it."'
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