Diane Kruger Was Hesitant to Have Kids Because She Was “Scared” of Feeling “Stuck in a Situation”

Diane Kruger is opening up about why she was hesitant to have children before welcoming her now-4-year-old daughter, Nova, with longtime partner Norman Reedus back in 2018. When talking to Caroline Stanbury during an episode of Dear Media’s Divorced Not Dead podcast, the actress got candid about how her upbringing negatively impacted her views on motherhood.

“I didn't have a good example of family life, you know?” Kruger shared when asked if it was her childhood or her career that made her not want to have kids originally. “I was always scared to commit to something and feel stuck in a situation as I saw my mom being stuck in a situation. I think that she could have done more traveling if she had had children a little bit older, I think she might have gotten out of her dysfunctional marriage earlier.”

Kruger continued, “I think that me and my brother were witness to things that weren't very pretty in a relationship. And so, I thought I'd never wanted that for myself. I felt like maybe I wasn't made for that type of life.”

When asked if she thought her mother only stayed in her marriage because of her and her brother, Diane replied: “I mean, she never said that or made me feel like that. It was me growing older and seeing a different life, in Paris and then in New York, and the things that were opening up to me and the possibilities that I had.”

“I just looked at my mom and I saw how unhappy she was in that marriage for so long, and I felt like she stayed because of us, as so many women do for way too long,” she added. “And I never have wanted to feel stuck and she was so adamant about me always being financially independent and being responsible, which weighed very heavily on me as I was growing up. But I'm glad she did.” 

The actress then explained that while her childhood may have made her hesitant to start a family of her own, it’s also the main reason behind her intense drive. “There was a lot of pressure for me also. I'm not from a wealthy family. We're fine but I didn't grow up with money, so there was always that pressure of if I don't succeed, then I'm gonna have to come back and get a regular job and that very much spurred my ambition.”