Sienna Miller has admitted that she felt ‘overwhelmed’ and thought she had ‘failed’ the first stages of parenthood after welcoming her daughter Marlowe in 2012.
Reflecting on the difficult time, the actress, 39, said she was ‘obsessed’ with Marlowe, now eight, but at the same time was also in ‘absolute hell’ as she ‘didn’t know what she was doing’.
Sienna revealed that she had a ‘traumatic birth’ with her daughter, who she shares with ex Tom Sturridge, 35, and felt she had ‘failed’ at the time by not being in a ‘blissful little bubble’.
Candid: Sienna Miller has admitted that she felt ‘overwhelmed’ and thought she had ‘failed’ the first stages of parenthood after welcoming her daughter Marlowe in 2012
The actress appeared on Tuesday’s This Morning to talk about her film, Wander Darkly, and admitted she connected to the script as it focuses on a couple dealing with ‘challenges’ in their relationship one year after welcoming a baby.
Sienna said: ‘I remember when I had Marlowe, yes, people would phone and say, “I’m sure you’re in your blissful little bubble” and I was obsessed with my daughter but I was also in absolute hell.’
Recalling the difficult time, the actress continued: ‘Because you lose 24 hours sleep a week overnight, you spend so much time preparing for the birth and then you have to take the baby home and I didn’t know what I was doing.
‘It was intense, I had a traumatic birth, but the whole thing I felt like I failed at something by not being blissful in the first stages of parenthood.’
Looking back: Reflecting on the difficult time, the actress, 39, said she was ‘obsessed’ with Marlowe, now eight, but at the same time was also in ‘absolute hell’ as she ‘didn’t know what she was doing’ (pictured in 2018)
‘Failed’: Sienna revealed that she had a ‘traumatic birth’ with her daughter, who she shares with ex Tom Sturridge, 35, and felt she had ‘failed’ at the time by not being in a ‘blissful little bubble’
Sienna shares her eight-year-old daughter with former partner Tom Sturridge, from whom she split in 2015, following a four-year romance.
The actress has previously shared how she wanted a ‘natural water birth’ but instead endured a painful 27-hour long labour which resulted in an urgent caesarean.
Talking about how she resonated with the film script, Sienna added: ‘I like the fact the script deals with that and having spoken to lots of mums in the aftermath, I think it’s not an uncommon feeling to be really overwhelmed and find things hard.’
Elsewhere during the interview, Sienna revealed that Marlowe, now eight, ‘refuses’ to let her do accents at home while preparing for film roles.
Sienna said: ‘ I remember when I had Marlowe, yes, people would phone and say, “I’m sure you’re in your blissful little bubble” and I was obsessed with my daughter but I was also in absolute hell.’ (pictured with ex Tom Sturridge in 2014)
She added: ‘It was intense, I had a traumatic birth, but the whole thing I felt like I failed at something by not being blissful in the first stages of parenthood.’
She said: ‘It is kind of hard but I hate actors hearing actors talk that way, it definitely kind of infects your mood to a certain degree.
‘With something like this, it was an independent film and we were shooting 17-18 hour days and really jumping about from intense grief to something happy, and the scheduling was just all over the place.
‘So I was really [all over the place], but my daughter refuses to let me do an accent when I’m at home, I used to read a bedtime stories in whatever accent but that’s banned.
‘I am only allowed to speak in my own voice but I am allowed to do an accent when I get in the car.’
Sienna also admitted that lockdown has been ‘challenging’, she said: ‘The first time was a novelty but this one has been dragging.’
Wander Darkly premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2020, and tells the story of a couple, Adrienne (Sienna) and Matteo (Diego Luna), who are traumatised by an accident.
Speaking further of the movie, Sienna said: ‘Every time I read the script I cried, it had everything I was looking for. It examines relationships, and it has such a twist in the end that I didn’t see coming so every time I read the script I was in floods of tears.’
Talking about the filming process, the actress said: ‘We would have the street for a minute, there was a scene where I had to jump out of a moving car, fall apart, probably more that I have ever had to do in any film…
‘Then we’d have ten minute breaks and you have to go back into it. So really, I loved making this, I am really happy with how it turned out, it really did turn out great but it was the most challenging thing for sure.’
Sienna also spoke about watching herself on screen at the Sundance Film Festival, she said: ‘It was such a labour of love to get made, you always gamble when you make a film that you love.
‘I knew it was a film that was going to be made in the edits I was curious to see how it worked, I enjoyed watching it, not my parts, but it was the last time I was in the cinema.’
The interview comes after Sienna revealed that she wouldn’t stand in the way of her daughter Marlowe’s ambitions, should she wish to follow in her footsteps and become an actress.
Speaking out: The actress has previously shared how she wanted a ‘natural water birth’ but instead endured a painful 27-hour long labour which resulted in an urgent caesarean
The 39-year-old star, who made her big screen debut in South Kensington aged 19, insists the #MeToo movement has helped make the entertainment industry better for women, after a spotlight was shone on sexual harassment and inequity.
She told The Sunday Times’ Culture supplement: ‘I love being an actor. It is a great job and my daughter is artistic. I would never dissuade her [and] predatory behaviour is in any workplace or bar.
‘It’s something women have to navigate that men probably underestimate. And have to deal with their entire lives. I’m glad she’s growing up in a world where that behaviour is not tolerated in the way it was when I was young.’
Premise: Wander Darkly premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January 2020, and tells the story of a couple, Adrienne (Sienna) and Matteo (Diego Luna), who are traumatised by an accident (Sienna pictured in film still)
While she has admitted to getting ‘shouted at’ by disgraced film producer Harvey Weintstein, New York-born Sienna believes that increased awareness of the industry’s issues behind the scenes has made things better all around.
In 2020, Weinstein, 68, was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of two of five felony rape charges in a New York City courtroom.
The charges levelled against Weinstein led to a wave of women and men stepping forward to reveal their own experiences with sexual harassment, and birthed the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.
American Women star Sienna shares her eight-year-old daughter with former partner Tom Sturridge, from whom she split in 2015, following a four-year romance.
Interview: Sienna spoke to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby during Tuesday’s show
She was famously in an on-off relationship with Jude Law, 48, which began in 2003 and, following a long break, came to its ultimate end at the start of 2011.
Sienna more recently embarked on a romance with Lucas Zwirner, though their relationship came to an end in the latter half of last year, prompting the star to relocate back to the UK from New York City.
The actress has been busy in recent weeks, as she’s been seen out and about in London shooting scenes for her Netflix political drama Anatomy Of A Scandal.
This Morning continues on weekdays at 10am on ITV.
Ex: She was famously in an on-off relationship with Jude Law, 48, which began in 2003 and, following a long break, came to its ultimate end at the start of 2011 (pictured in May 2010)