Scarlett Johansson is not holding back when it comes to sharing her motherhood journey, specifically the roller coaster of emotions when raising a toddler.
The actor and mom of two opened up to Lauryn and Michael Bosstick on a recent episode of "The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast".
“It’s really tough,” Johansson, 38, said of navigating toddlerhood with her daughter, Rose, 8. “I remember my daughter when she was 2, I said, ‘This is great. I don’t know what everybody is talking about.’ And then she turned 3, and it was like being in an emotionally abusive relationship.”
Johansson shares Rose with her ex-husband, French journalist Romain Dauriac. The former couple split in 2017 after nearly three years of marriage.
“It’s crazy, it was just so intense," Johansson said of parenting a toddler. "Emotional swings and so bossy and adamant. And, also these huge mood swings ... constant mood swings."
But Johansson also acknowledged that "it must be a lot" for kids who are first learning how to regulate their emotions.
"You’re up and down constantly," she said. “You get a lot of grief from toddlers. Everything you do is not right. It’s hard.”
Johansson is also mom to her son, Cosmo, 1, who she shares with husband Colin Jost, a head writer on “Saturday Night Live."
“Having a baby is so lovely,” she said. “They’re so cute. They sit there and they love you and then that’s it. And you just get love from them.”
When asked how she balances motherhood with her career, Johansson quickly responded, "There is no balance."
Though, she recognizes that becoming a mother has "for sure" changed her perspective on professional projects.
"It helps the pieces of your life fall into place a little bit when you have this other priority," she said.
It's not the first time Johansson has opened up about motherhood. In a 2022 interview with Kelly Clarkson, she shared the connection between her kids' names: They're both types of flowers.
“Not a lot of people make that connection,” Johansson said at the time. “Cosmo is a really sweet little flower that comes in different shades of orange and yellow.”
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