Any time an A-list celebrity makes a comment about parenting, it's an instant 'discourse' generator. People with 24-hour security, multiple mansions and their own nutritionists trying to be relatable can seem audacious, if not absurd. Bradley Cooper's appearance on Dax Shepard’s 'Armchair Expert' podcast this week was no different.
During the episode, he admitted to struggling to connect with his six-year-old daughter Lea, who he shares with ex-girlfriend and model Irina Shayk, when she was first born. The quote that's doing the rounds on social media makes him seem like Gregg Wallace 2.0 – who recently admitted to spending a mere 1.5 hours with his son on Saturdays, and two hours playing Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia – but his honesty is more applaudable than it first seems.
The Maestro actor, 49, said 'The first eight months – I don’t even know if I really love the kid. It’s dope. It’s cool. I’m watching this thing morph.
'That’s my experience,' Bradley continued. 'Fascinated by it. Loved taking care of it. But would I die if someone came in with a gun?'
To suggest you wouldn't put your child's needs (and safety) before your own may seem like a stark remark at first – and one that Bradley's management might have suggested he kept in his own head given his level of reach and the nature of the internet. But rather than instantly ridiculing him, perhaps his honesty is a chance to start a more interesting and useful conversation about the difficulties many new parents face – regardless of their fame, wealth or status.
While Bradley did not explicitly reference postnatal depression, it is not uncommon for new parents to struggle to connect with their babies. According to a survey of more than 1,000 mothers undertaken by the Parent-Infant Foundation in 2023, one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby.
In a BBC article from 2022, it was estimated that around 10% of fathers are depressed in the first year after birth, a rate twice as high as in the general male population. Some research has even indicated that in the three- to six-month period after birth, around one in four fathers exhibit symptoms of depression.
Yes, Bradley is a multi-million dollar Hollywood actor who was probably reading the script for A Star is Born and taking guitar lessons in 2017 when his daughter was born, and he and Irina probably had a great deal of help, but that doesn't mean he's exempt from those same heavy feelings.
Of course, what's left out of the viral extract is what Bradley said next, which is that after a few months his paternal instincts towards Lea became 'no question'. He also said that she inspires him to be a better person so that he does 'the least amount of damage' to her that he can.
He added, 'I’m not sure I’d be alive if I wasn’t a dad. I just needed someone to say, like, "We’re gonna drop this massive anchor." I’m like, "Why? We’re speeding! I just got an upgrade on the boat, and I know where the wind’s coming in." They’re like, "No, no, no, there’s a tsunami coming in, and you need an anchor and we’re gonna drop it."
'Because this is gonna dictate everything you do from now on. Your DNA is going to tell you that there’s something more important than you.'
While his somewhat convoluted metaphor might not help his case, it's still a brave and important subject to talk about. So far responses on X (formerly Twitter) have included '[this is the] hardest I've laughed at a quote from an actor maybe ever' and 'why would you say this', but perhaps they're missing the point. A lot of new parents feel afraid to have honest conversations about their relationships with their babies for this exact reason, let's hope Bradley's frankness does something to change that.
Nikki Peach is news and entertainment writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and current affairs.