Laura Prepon: ‘Mom Guilt Is Still an Issue’ While Balancing Work, Parenting
All moms know. Laura Prepon juggles a lot with her acting career and a cookware line, and sometimes, managing all that plus parenthood can be difficult.
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“The work-life balance is tough,” the That ‘70s Show actress exclusively shared with Us Weekly on Wednesday, June 15. “You wanna be home with your kids and then when you’re with your kids, you’re like, ‘I should be working.’ And that mom guilt is still an issue.”
The PrepOn kitchen founder, 42, gave birth to a daughter, Ella, in 2017 with her actor husband, Ben Foster, 41. The couple also welcomed a son in 2020 and decided not to share his name with the public.
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While discussing her new partnership with Vitalite, a plant-based cheese alternative, the mom-of-two shared that other projects, like directing a new show for Netflix, will require “really long” hours, again challenging her multitasking abilities.
“I really have to balance work life and mom life,” Prepon shared. “Parents have been dealing with it for a very, very long time, I’m sure, but that kind of balance is definitely hard.”
She added: “You figure it out and we have a great family dynamic. Thank goodness. We’ll figure it out, but that’s probably the toughest thing —being away from them when I’m at work. The guilt is just overwhelming sometimes.”
As for how the Orange Is the New Black star and her husband delegate the parenting roles, Prepon noted that it “just depends.”
“In terms of social media with our children and any time anything is being shown with the kids, it’s always a discussion that he and I have together,” she explained. “Again, no judgment, we’re all doing the best we can! But for us, it’s always a family decision. When one of us is at work, we’re in communication about how we’re gonna figure out the home life.”
Another one of the Stash Plan author’s upcoming projects, That ‘90s Show, will demand a lot of her time, but she’s more than excited to bring the new Netflix revival to the public.
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“It’s so fun. It’s all the same sets,” Prepon, who rose to fame playing Donna Pinciotti on the original FOX series, shared. “When I first went there, I cried. I’m just like, ‘The nostalgia is so strong and it was such an incredible time in my life.’ I can’t wait for people to see it. I think they’re really, really gonna get a kick out of it.”
Netflix announced they picked up the That ‘70s Show revival series in October 2021 with Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Topher Grace, Wilmer Valderrama, Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith all reprising their original roles. The new show will follow the Forman parents babysitting Eric and Donna’s daughter, Leia (Callie Haverda), while she visits for the summer.
When she heads back home after a long day at work, Prepon focuses on incorporating more plant-based meals into her family’s routine since taking on “a flexitarian lifestyle.”
“I definitely tend to go more plant-based for my family and partnering with a company like Vitalite is great, [because] I use it at home and my kids eat it and love it,” the New Jersey native said. “It’s just like a really great fit. So, it’s exciting.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
