Connie Britton knows that it takes a village to raise a child. Luckily, her village is filled with some pretty strong single mothers.
“I think a lot about Charlize [Theron],” Britton told Us Weekly exclusively while discussing her new Hallmark Channel reality series, The Motherhood. “Charlize and I are both single moms and actually both have adopted kids. So it was really helpful to talk to her kind of in the early days. She’s just such a badass and she is so, so brave as a mother.”
Although Britton, 58, can’t pinpoint an exact moment with Theron, 49, that helped her through some of the more challenging parenting moments, she explained that Theron’s overall energy as a mom guided her following her 2011 adoption of son Eyob “Yoby,” now 14, from Ethiopia.
“I can’t think of a specific thing that she told me but just watching her in action made me feel like you can do it and you can still have a strong sense of self and you can still raise your kids and let them feel completely supported and completely parented and completely seen — and you can do the same for yourself. You know, she really set that example for me,” Britton gushed.
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“And she is super close to her mom [Gerda Maritz],” she added of Theron, who adopted her children Jackson and August in 2012 and 2015, respectively. “I know her mom has always been a really strong support for her in her life.”
Britton is very aware of how difficult it can be to raise children without a partner. (She has been dating David Windsor since 2020, telling Andy Cohen in 2023, “I have an amazing man in my life now and he is definitely stepping into that more paternal role.”) When she first became a mother, the actress was single and busy starring as Rayna James on Nashville. She felt completely overwhelmed by the early years of motherhood and her jam-packed work schedule.
“I just went off to Nashville and started shooting the show, and I had this baby and I didn’t even really know how to be a mother yet,” she explained to Us. “It was kind of traumatizing because I had no support system in Nashville, and I was working, you know, sometimes 15, 16, 17 hours a day, and it was a lot of work. I realized that that was one of the things that still sticks out to me is when you first become a parent, the learning curve of, ‘Oh, I need to think about things differently now and I need to make choices differently now because now I am thinking for a whole other person who can’t think for themselves.’”
The White Lotus star added that the experience made her more picky choosing future work-related projects. She also insisted that moms in the Hollywood industry who stick together are the true heroes.
“To continue working in this business as a mom or as a single mom, we have to support each other. And it just feels to me when I see a fellow mom, a fellow working mom out doing the thing, it’s almost like we have a secret handshake thing, and it’s kind of like, ‘I see you girl, I get you girl,’” she explained. “You know? Where you’re doing it. You’re doing the thing, and I’m here to lift you up however I can.”
Her own experience as a single mom led her to create The Motherhood, which follows her as she connects with another single mom who is juggling the demands of work, parenting and self-care. Over the course of a transformative week, Britton and three expert coaches — DIY and home design specialist Angela Rose, positive parenting coach Destini Ann and style expert Taryn Hicks — help the mom find peace and harmony in her life.
“When I became a single mom, it was kind of a big awakening for me where I realized, like, ‘Whoa, this is no joke.’ Obviously being a parent period is a big, big transition and a big change in life, but doing it by yourself is kind of a whole other thing,” Britton told Us. “And so I learned in that process how important having a community is and a support system. I started thinking, ‘Gosh, I’m one of the lucky ones. I am able to have help when I need it. And so many single moms and single parents in the world don’t have the privilege of that.’”
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As for producing and hosting The Motherhood, Britton said she not only wanted to create a support system for single parents but “really change the cultural perspective on how we think of them and to really understand that they’re doing heroic work and should be treated as such in the culture.”
She continued: “I’m hopeful that this show is going to kind of help contribute to reshaping how we think about single parents and maybe look out for each other a little bit more in our communities and say, ‘Oh, I would love to lend a hand to this person.’ As they say, it takes a village, you know?”
Britton has learned a lot from making The Motherhood — including the importance of continuing to carve out time for herself.
“I always have to remind myself just how important it is — no matter how busy you are, working your job to pay the bills and also raising a child, and giving them everything they need — to carve out time for yourself, and that that’s actually beneficial for everyone, including your child,” she said. “And I think that’s such a struggle, especially for single moms, because they feel like, ‘Oh, I don’t wanna buy myself something nice,’ or, ‘I don’t wanna take time for myself because that’s taking time away from my responsibilities as a mother.’ And, in fact, it’s actually rejuvenating. And also it allows your child to see, like, ‘Oh, you’re taking care of yourself as well. You’re not just sacrificing yourself to take care of me.’”
The actress said she’s blessed to have “a wonderful son” whom she’s so proud to see grow into a respectful young man.
“He’ll check in,” she said of Yoby. “Like, last night he was checking on me and was like, ‘Hey mom, are you OK?’ You know, he’ll check on me and just say, ‘Are you OK?’ and, ‘How was your day today?’ And, you know, we have a conversation that isn’t just all about his 20 needs. I just love that he is growing into an actual human.”
As for her Mother’s Day plans, Britton is meeting up with a good friend and their kids for lunch. “I love a good meal. Maybe, you know, love a glass of rosé,” she admitted, laughing. “That’s the perfect Mother’s Day for me.”
The Motherhood premieres Monday, May 5, on the Hallmark Channel and streams next day on Hallmark+.
