Kate Beckinsale Explains Why She Sniffs Her Daughter's Socks While She's Away in College

Kate Beckinsale has a very interesting way she keeps her daughter Lily Mo Sheen close while she’s away at college.

The 46-year-old actress appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America Tuesday where she discussed her relationship with her 20-year-old daughter — whom she shares with actor Michael Sheen — and how she copes with Lily being out of the house.

Co-host Michael Strahan brought up one of Beckinsale’s recent Instagram posts, which sparked confusion as the actress was seen sniffing a pair of her daughter’s socks. She joked in the caption that while Lily is gone, she continues to have a “rich and full life huffing one’s way through their sock drawer and wearing all their pants at once.”

The former NFL player referenced the photo and was quick to ask, “What are you doing?”

“I’m just having a little sniff of one of her socks while she’s away,” Beckinsale said innocently as co-hosts Strahan, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos chuckled.

“Actually, I mainly did that to embarrass her,” the actress admitted. “I said if you leave home, just know I’m going to be going through your underwear drawer, just huffing everything while you’re gone.”

“I won’t be going out I won’t have a life, I’m just going to be smelling your underpants and your socks,” she said with a laugh.

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While Beckinsale was joking about her coping mechanisms, Strahan seriously asked if Lily checks in with her mom while at school.

“Never heard from her again. I’m terrified of her,” she quipped. “Absolutely. It’s like I was on a talk show the other night and they were like ‘Hey how do you feel about wrapping Hamilton?’ I was like well she’d never speak to me again, so that’d be over. I’m trying to behave myself as best as I can.”

This isn’t the first time Beckinsale has spoken candidly about her daughter’s time in college.

In June, the actress, posted a text message exchange with her Lily in which she learned her daughter is decidedly not doing any cocaine — despite a dream convincing the worried mom otherwise.

“Are you doing a lot of cocaine?!?” Beckinsale asked.

Lily was confused in her response.

“um..??” she replied, adding, “i’m doing 0 cocaine. what is happening?? hello??”

“I physically couldn’t be doing less cocaine,” Lily reiterated, still waiting for a response from her mom. “u can’t send me that and then go silent.”

“I had a dream you were and i was so mad,” Beckinsale said, explaining that, like many moms, she feared the worst after a dream about her child.

In response to her mother’s overreaction, Lily texted back, “you are a LUNATIC.”

“Worth checking in case had suddenly become soothsayer in sleep,” Beckinsale captioned the photo of their conversation on Instagram.