Hilary Swank reveals why she disagrees with parents who complain about raising children

Hilary Swank has opened up about her current motherhood journey.

The 49-year-old actress discussed what it is like being a mom on Today with Hoda & Jenna with hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. Swank shares her twins daughter Aya and son Ohm, who she welcomed in April 2023, with her husband Philip Schneider.

When one of the hosts asked Swank if she always wanted to be a mother, she quickly responded with a yes in spite of how long it might have taken for her to reach that milestone.

“I did. I mean, I’ve always, even when I was a little girl I was like: ‘I want to be a mom someday,’” Swank said. “But I also have this career that was like a baby to me that I wanted to give my all to. And then finding the right partner and all of that.”

The actress was then asked what it was like to have children later in life, with Swank revealing she has the ability to focus on them more now compared to when she was younger, calling it a “blessing”.

“I don’t know, because we didn’t have them younger so I don’t know what that would have been like then, but I think there is something for me right now anyhow that I’m able to give my focus to them in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to at that point,” Swank said.

“I can give my all to them because I’m in a blessed position that I can say: ‘Oh, I’m going to go back to work now.’ Or, ‘I’m going to take this time off now.’ Well, we also had an actor’s strike so I had the whole first year with them,” she continued.

“There are all these expectations - it’s so funny, parenthood has these cliches, some of which are true. And some are sort of the, ‘You’ll never sleep again!’” Bush Hager added.

“Yeah, a lot of complaining. ‘Oh my God, your life gets kind of taken away. It gets hijacked until they get back in school.’ I’m like: ‘This is what I wanted. Good. Hijack the heck out of it!’” Swank laughed.

The PS I Love You actor, 48, shared a post to Instagram on 10 April 2023 in which she could be seen standing on a balcony, looking over the sea and a sunset in the distance, while she cradled the two babies in each hand. In the caption, she announced that she had given birth to twins.

“It wasn’t easy. But boy (and girl!) was it worth it,” the first time mother wrote in the caption.

She also wished her followers a “happy Easter” and added that her location was “pure heaven”.

The Million Dollar Baby star announced the news that she and Schneider were expecting two new additions to the family during an appearance on Good Morning America in October 2022.

“I’m so happy to share it with you, and with America right now, this is something that I’ve been wanting for a long time, and my next thing is I’m going to be a mom,” she revealed on the show.

Swank and Schneider married in a private California ceremony in 2018, after keeping their engagement secret for two years.