American actress Jessica Alba has spoken about going to therapy with her two daughters, allowing them a “safe space” to communicate with her.
Alba (41) gained recognition at the age of 19 starring as Max Guevara in the television series Dark Angel, a role for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.
Speaking to Glamour UK, Alba said she began going to therapy with her eldest daughter Honor Marie and now also goes with her younger daughter Haven Garner.
She said: “I was like, ‘Look, I’m not perfect. I’m not going to know all the answers, but I want to be a great parent to you.
“And what you like and don’t is different from what your sister likes and doesn’t like. And I’m going to make mistakes.
“Here’s a safe space, you can’t get in trouble – let me know what I’m doing wrong, or what you would like me to do differently.
“Or how do you want me to discipline you when you do screw up? What does that look like for you? And how would you want to be treated so you can still feel like you have your dignity intact?'”
Alba married her husband and the father of her children Cash Warren in 2008 after the pair met on the set of Fantastic Four and the couple also share a son, Hayes.
The actress confirmed that when she first met film producer Warren, 43, he slipped her a note, signed with a dollar sign – to match his name – that said: “I really, really like you.”
“True story, he did!” Alba told Glamour UK.
She explained that they decided to elope while she was heavily pregnant with their first child, saying: “We eloped and I think I was nine months pregnant!
“It wasn’t planned. It was literally, ‘Honey, do you have anything to do this morning?’ And he was like, ‘No.’ So I said, ‘Should we go to the courthouse and get married?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah.’ And then I said, ‘Can we get waffles afterwards because I have a doctor’s appointment? Will you come to my doctor’s appointment?’
“And that’s how it happened!”
Alba also reflected on her childhood and growing up in a deeply religious Catholic family. She said: “I grew up in survival mode. It was almost sort of what I was born into.
“My parents didn’t have a safety net, they were living pay check to pay check… They were just like, ‘Here’s your life.’ And I was like, ‘This is some bullshit. I want a better life than that. I don’t want to be in survival mode all the time.’”
The full interview with Jessica Alba is available in the July/August digital issue of Glamour UK online.
