Seth Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller, have been childless and happily married since 2011, and in a brand new interview, the actor opened up about their decision not to have children.
Appears in Diary of a CEO podcast this week, Seth talked at length about his long career and how he became one of the most beloved comedy writers in Hollywood — noting that not having kids “definitely” played a huge role in his success.
“There’s one huge thing I’m not doing, raising kids,” she said.
In response, host Steven Bartlett asked Seth to consider the opposite side of the argument, that being parents might have made his and Lauren’s lives “happier” — prompting Seth to vehemently disagree.
“I don’t think it would be,” he replied. “Obviously I’ve had a lot of kids, I’m not ignorant of what it’s like… Everyone I know has kids. I’m 40, you know? I know.”
“Some of my friends have had children for decades. Some people want kids, some people don’t want kids,” she added, before going on to suggest that many people raise their families before they even think about whether or not it’s really right for them.
“I mean, a lot of people have kids before they even think about it, from what I’ve seen honestly,” she said. “They just tell you, you go through life, you get married, you have kids — it happens.”
Speaking more candidly about his personal experience, Seth made it clear that having children is something neither he nor Lauren ever wanted, adding that they have become more confident in their decision as they get older.
“Me and my wife, neither of us were like that,” he said. “Honestly, the older we get the happier and more affirmed we are with our choice not to have children. It was something that we kind of talked about more and said, ‘we made the right choice, are we sure?'”
“Now, more than anything else, the conversation is like, ‘Honestly, thank God we don’t have kids,'” she continued. “We have to do what we want.”
“We are in the prime of our lives, we are smarter than ever, we understand ourselves more than ever, we have the ability to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for each other, and a lifestyle that we can live with each other that we’ve never been able to experience before, and we can just do it and not have to raise a child – that the world doesn’t need right now,” concluded Seth.
After the interview was published on Monday, fans spoke up for him Very bad author, with one person in the comments section praising his “authentic” and “genuine” answer.
“So refreshing to hear someone shout out, without shame or societal expectations, that they don’t want to have children and are happy with their choice,” they commented.
In agreement, others applauded his point noting that they have a similar experience of marriage without children.
“So refreshing to hear his reasoning for not having kids,” another user added. “My wife and I think and feel exactly the same. Bang on Seth!”
“100% spot for children. My wife and I are actively enjoying not having them!” echoed someone else.
Far from the praise, there were quite a few people on TikTok who remarked that it’s actually pretty rare to see a man not only give such a detailed answer, but even be asked about not having kids in the first place.
It goes without saying that women have long faced public and invasive questions about why they don’t have children, with a number of huge names such as Miley Cyrus, Helen Mirren and Ellen DeGeneres speaking out in the past to quell speculation about their opinions. in motherhood.
Oprah Winfrey, for example, is often questioned about not having children, prompting her to tell the Hollywood Reporter in 2013 that if she had children, they would “hate” her.
“They would have come up with the equivalent of it Oprah show talking about me, because something [in my life] they should suffer, and they probably would,” he said.
Similarly, Dolly Parton is another famous person who has spoken at length about never having children, telling Oprah in 2020 that she thought they were never meant for her.
“I didn’t have children because I thought God didn’t want me to have children so everyone’s children would be mine,” she said. “If I didn’t have the freedom to work, I wouldn’t have done all the things I’ve done. I wouldn’t be able to do all the things I do now.”
Just last November, Jennifer Aniston opened up about her “challenging” fertility journey after decades of invasive speculation about her body and why she doesn’t have children, telling Allure that the persistent questioning was “really hard” for her to deal with . with.
So, given that this line of questioning has historically been thrust upon women — both in the celebrity context and in everyday life — people were almost surprised to see that Seth had come to grips with the issue, too.
“Glad to see a man asking for this,” one person wrote, garnering more than 17,000 likes.
Other commenters responded, noting that this was actually the first time they’d ever seen a man in the audience being asked about their plans — or lack thereof — to have children.
“I have NEVER seen a man discuss this,” added another.
Of course, there were people who couldn’t help but feel that no one should ever feel in a position to need to justify their reasoning for not having children, publicly or otherwise.
“I love everything she said,” one person commented, adding: “why do single people have to justify their choice?”
Another user called the question “condescending,” noting that people with children are hardly held accountable for this decision.
However, the majority of people found Seth’s answer to be refreshing and will help normalize people’s personal decisions when it comes to parenthood.
“Yah! As a couple without kids, we appreciate these kinds of conversations! 🥰,” one person wrote.
“YES! Just how me and my husband feel. Normalize it. It’s amazing. 🙌” someone else agreed.