It has never been my style to go after people who do dumb things. I have so much dumb in my life that it could be considered hypocritical. But sometimes, I just have to speak. Because the dumb is too big!
Recently, Gwyneth Paltrow announced her ‘uncoupling’ from Chris Martin. I did not care much – as I don’t about any celebrity couple – but I was surprised. They had been fairly low profile and seemed to have a stable life. I think they made it 13 years or so and had two kids. They even survived the ‘They named their kids WHAT?’ media attention that came when Apple, their daughter, was born. So, now that Ms. Paltrow is a single mom for the first time ever, I give her a little bit of slack. A single mom myself, I understand the adjustment period. But when I read what she said about her motherhood recently, my jaw hit the ground and my blood began to boil.
‘It’s much harder for me… I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening.’
The entire quote is actually “It’s much harder for me,” she said. “I feel like I set it up in a way that makes it difficult because … for me, like if I miss a school run, they are like, ‘Where were you?’ I don’t like to be the lead so I don’t (have) to work every day, you know, I have little things that I like and obviously I want it to be good and challenging and interesting, and be with good people and that kind of thing.”
And she just keeps it up:
“I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening,” said Paltrow. “When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it’s not like being on set.”
Now, listen. I understand her stress. My worst days are when my kids are at their dads. But it is how it is and – eventually – you accept it and cherish the times you do have them. Which is 80% of the year, in my case. But I have little to no sympathy for people who – as a part of their profession that pays them MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of dollars – have to be away from their kids for a short amount of time to make those millions so they can spend the rest of the time at home with their kids.
I mean, we are talking 2 weeks out of how long? A month? Six Months? A YEAR? When she is not ‘on a set’ what is her work day like? Does she get days on end with no worries and no schedule and lots of helpers to take care of the ‘routine’ work moms do because she gets paid millions for those two weeks? Or does she get up at 6am and fall asleep at 2am like I do in order to get everything ‘routine’ done in addition to working? And is still always behind?
I challenge her to step in and see what my life -and the ‘routine’ lives of millions of single (and married) moms – is really like!
I work at least 60 hours a week. Granted, I am VERY blessed that I get to work from home and adjust my schedule to my children’s needs. But I KNOW I am blessed and I am always telling moms who work out of the home how much I respect and bow down to all that they do. I was a married working mom for a year when my oldest was born and it was the most difficult, most stressful, saddest year of my life! Being able to work from home is a TRUE BLESSING!
But as hard as I work, I barely make ends meet most months. I am constantly calculating in my head how much is coming in and how much is going out. I don’t have a steady employer. I am my employer. And if I am not on this computer working my fingers to literal pain all day, every day, all year long, I don’t have an income.
Add to that a house that needs updates and repairs and a yard that needs to be mowed and a garden that needs to be tended to and I am beyond over my ‘normal’ lifestyle.
When I worked in an office, Gwyneth, I had all of that AND a two hour commute AND even more babies at the office.
Common sense would say that Ms. Paltrow has the resources to hire a tutor and take her kids with her to her movie sets. It would also be a fair assumption that she has the resources to have someone else cleaning the house, folding the laundry, cooking dinner, and tending to her yard and house repairs. So the time she is able to save by hiring people to help is uninterrupted time with her kids that the rest of us ache to have more of.
So while she is not the only celebrity mom to come out and compare her privileged, somewhat idealized lifestyle with those of us who are the ‘regular’ people of the world, she is the one I am going after now. Because she is the latest to open her mouth and insert her diamond encrusted heels that she got for free for a 5 minute walk on the red carpet to promote a movie she was paid millions to do those two weeks at a time on a movie set.
And I just think she needs to wear those to my house and live in the real world for a week.
What do you think of what she said?
Facepalm! I wonder if she has a trainer, a nanny, a cook, a housekeeper, a driver, etc. hahahahahaha Wouldn’t THAT be nice to be a “regular single mom’s routine”? I’d LOVE for single motherhood to come with millions of dollar for being gone for a couple of weeks and the added benefits of making that kind of money. For her to compare her life to ours is just ridiculous, but I think many in Hollywood think they’re like us commoners.
I do too!! They would not make it a day without their help and their all organic meals someone else makes for Them!! Lol
She is such a idiot. Ummmm geez I work 18 hours a day – spaced throughout the 24-hour clock as a single mom to 3 kids, I do it without help and I would never think of comparing my work-day to some snot who has and can afford multiple helpers. This woman needs a wakeup call to the real world instead of some makebelieve world of entertainment.
Here here!!!! Maybe she is just that clueless but I find it hard to believe that she could be
Oh, Gwyneth Paltrow is hilarious. I love to read articles about her. She’s always saying crazy stuff like this. I’m sure her public persona must be some sort of performance art. No one could really be as clueless and self-involved as she appears to be.
LOL – let’s hope that is the case!! :)
When my 4 kids were smaller I easily worked an average of 20 hours a day. I was lucky to get any sleep. Thank God I was younger and could do it. Whether you work or not there is a huge amount to do in a day. I still live for those perfect moments, and they really are moments, not hours or days, just a moment here and there.
I do too!! Those moments keep me going :)
First her name is spelled Gwyneth, second- I agree that having an ‘office job’ is easier to schedule child care than if you had a schedule such as hers. I was able to meet her when Disney sent us out for Iron Man 3. She spoke of having her kids on set, making dinners with them when she was not on set and more. I think the fact that they announced their separation helped lead to not having rumors going around. I think her interview has been so taken out of context. I am sure many people if they had the means she does would have a nanny and more. I don’t feel she was saying people who have a ‘normal schedule’ have it easier- just the scheduling is easier. I don’t see her as an idiot but people are welcome to their opinion. As I have said before I would rather see her in the spotlight for a simple comment that she made than say drug addiciton etc. When we met her you couldn’t ask for a more down to earth, sweet person who loves her children and life itself.
OMG!! I can not believe I spelled her name wrong *red faced* – THANK YOU for pointing it out!!!
Yes, I am sure she is an amazing person. I have met many stars through Disney as well and find most to be wonderful people in an interview. Sure, it could have been taken out of context. But the truth is that ANY comparison to such an important job as motherhood shows a lack on insight. Taken out of context or not, her words do speak to the lack of understanding she has of other mothers out there. Because of her platform and her ability to have her words heard around the world, she should be more careful about the things she says. All mothers have it hard. It is the nature of the job.
:) Honestly I had the toughest time spelling her name when I had to write about her. I guess things like this just don’t get under my skin like it does others. Also people are allowed to have their opinions but saying that she is an idiot or clueless I think is just not my style lol. Soon there will be another star/celebrity that says something and her statements/interview will be forgotten… its the way of the world. Honestly if I made the $$ she did I would probably say things without thinking.. as my money stresses would then be focused on other stresses lol
LOL – true. I have a feeling not having to worry about money at all leaves a lot of room for foot in mouth disease! LOL :) I never said she was an idiot, I don’t think. I do think she lives a lifestyle, and always has, that distorts her true view of the world very near sighted. As do many, many stars and wealthy people, by the way. And thus, she should not do comparables at all… lest she be bashed by mom bloggers :) LOL
No you didn’t- one of your commentors did lol. Except for the current marital situation — I would trade my life of hardly able to make ends meet to be talked about in the media lol but today- maybe not tomorrow that is just me :)
ME TOO!!!!!!! LOL
I’m a married stay at home mom, who is homeschooling our 4th grade daughter, while our 7th grade son goes to school, and I still get run down and tired. While I (for now) have the privilege to stay home, other moms have to work to support their families, and I applaud them. I have worked, and boy did it make being a mom, wife, employee harder. But, for someone to flippantly say the things she did was kind of a slap in the face to the moms (esp the single moms) who bust their butts to provide. She is rich, may always be, and whether or not she does provide dinners, and spend time with her kids, HOW can that compare to those who have to do it on a fixed income, busting tail, not sleeping well, not eating well, in order to do everything in their power to make sure their kids have the love, attention and material things needed to have a happy, stable life? She may be a good person, so are a lot of other people, but to say things like that and not have people be upset about it? Come on now! Get real!! ~I’m coming off my soapbox now. Thanks~
Cindy – your response is exactly why I wrote this. We should never compare our motherhood to anyone else’s except to say “WOW, I love how amazing she is as a mom! I want to better.’ We ALL have it hard at times and we all have it easy at times. But those with the resources to make it a little easier at any time should really just keep their mouths hushed!
As a military family I feel little sympathy for someone who has to be away from their family for 2 weeks, my children have went months, (19 months is the longest period) without seeing their father. It happens. If only he made millions maybe we could feel better about all those deployments LOL (j/k we’d always miss him!)
Lol – I know you are but I hear you!!!
I think that most of us can agree that being a parent is the hardest job we will ever undertake. It’s a job with endless hours and a salary that is paid in hugs, kisses, fatigue, wrinkles, and gray hairs. But the end results are priceless. Seeing our beautiful children grow up to be anything and everything they want to be.
I think that it is very unfortunate that Ms. Paltrow proclaimed that she, and others like her (actors), is the end all be all of mothers. At least that is how I perceived it. Most of us don’t live the life of privilege and have nannies, chefs, housekeepers, and personal trainers at our beck and call. Some
raise their children on two salaries, some on a single salary, some below the
poverty level, and some do it alone. The majority of mothers on this earth don’t have the luxury of hiring gads of people to help us raise our children. Let’s not forget to mention the mothers who serve and protect our country in the military, police and fire departments. They do this all while raising a family on a salary that pales in comparison to that of Ms. Paltrow.
So Ms. Paltrow, instead of competing with the working mothers of the world, lift us up! Empower us! Don’t try to compete with us about who is the
harder working mother of all. We all have one thing in common, we do it all for our children. We laugh, we cry, and sometimes we want to pull out our hair, but we should all be humbled, blessed, and honored to be able to call ourselves, mom. Remember Ms. Paltrow, we are all on the same crazy roller coaster ride together.
(It would be interesting to see if Ms. Paltrow would stick to her story or maybe modify it after all of the backlash it has caused.)
Well said and I wonder too… Would she change her words now? Or stick to them?