Motherhood is on Selena Gomez’s mind lately. The 32-year-old, who revealed she won’t be able to carry her own children earlier this month, just shared an anecdote about babysitting that helped her picture what being a mom would like.
The Only Murders Happen in the Building star interviewed Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay for Interview Magazine recently, where she revealed that she got to babysit for the celebrity mom, who has played lead Olivia Benson for 25 years. As Gomez interviewed the star, she revealed how she got a chance to do the school pickup for Hargitay once.
Selena Gomez at the Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit Supporting Youth Mental Health at Nya Studios on October 4, 2023 in Los Angeles, California (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
“I wanted to ask a personal question, as someone who desires to be a mother,” the Rare Beauty founder asked Hargitay, who is mom to kids August, 18, Amaya, 13, and Andrew, 13, with husband Peter Hermann. “How does balancing things — because I remember I went to go pick up your kids from school one day, and I loved that,” Gomez recalled. “That felt so normal and real. How do you balance that? Because one day I hope to do that.”
Whoa, imagine the Selena Gomez picking you up from school? My kids would never want to see me in the pickup line again if that happened! It’s unclear what the circumstances were for this babysitting gig, but it seems like it led to her feeling more confident in her decision to become a mother one day.
Of course, Hargitay had a beautiful answer for her friend. “And you will,” she reassured Gomez about being a mother one day. “For all working moms, it’s hard. There’s been so many times where I’m torn or frustrated because in our jobs, you can’t say, ‘Guys, I’m not coming in today.’ But I’ve integrated them here. My kids come to work with me. Are there things I miss? Yeah.”
Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann at the inaugural Gotham TV Awards held at Cipriani 25 Broadway on June 4, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
She continued, “The flip side is that my kids are really proud of me. I talk to them a lot about, what kind of life do you want, and who do you want to be, and how do you want to spend your time? And what do you want to give back and who do you want to affect and what do you want to create? And so I look at it now and think, yes, I missed stuff. There were days where the nanny did a little extra, and that was hard. But I brought August to work with me every day for the first year. And you can, too. It’s doable. I am happier and living a fuller life, and they feel that and see that. And when I’m with them, I’m with them.”
Who else thinks Steve Martin and Martin Short would be the cutest pseudo-grandpas if Gomez brought a baby with her to film OMITB?!
The “Love On” singer told Vanity Fair this month that her experience with bipolar disorder and lupus has made her unable to carry a pregnancy. She revealed that she “unfortunately can’t carry my own children,” adding, “I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby’s in jeopardy.” This realization was “something I had to grieve for a while,” according to Gomez, which is completely understandable.
Surrogacy and adoption are possibilities for the 32-year-old. “I find it a blessing that there are wonderful people willing to do surrogacy or adoption, which are both huge possibilities for me,” she said. “I’m excited for what that journey will look like.” (BTW, Hargitay adopted children, too, so maybe she could give her babysitter friend some advice when the time comes!)
However her journey to motherhood looks like, though, Gomez seems to have lots of practice. In addition to Hargitay’s kids, she’s also babysat Jessica Simpson’s daughter Maxwell! Simpson revealed that her daughter, who was 10 at the time, “met a really good friend of Selena’s little sister,” so she got to go with them to an Olivia Rodrigo concert. “She’s 10 years old, she’s got to see a live show,” she said on an Instagram Live in 2022. “So thank you Olivia Rodrigo for that show. And thank you Selena for being a great babysitter.”
You might be surprised at whose kids have famous celebrity godparents!
