Hannah Waddingham admits 'mum guilt' over time away from daughter
The 'Ted Lasso' star shared how she balances motherhood with filming and international travel
Hannah Waddingham has candidly opened up about the "mum guilt" she experiences whenever work takes her away from her daughter.
The Ted Lasso star, 51, admitted she finds it difficult to be separated from her 12-year-old daughter, Kitty, whom she shares with her former partner, Italian businessman Gianluca Cugnetto.
Speaking to The Guardian, Waddingham revealed the feeling returns every time she has to travel for professional commitments.
"God, all the time," she said when asked whether she experiences mum guilt. "I'm about to go away to do press for the next season of Ted Lasso, and the mummy guilt descends. But I have to try and combat it."
The actress also explained that spending more time with her daughter is one of the reasons she has stepped away from stage work for now.
"I don't think my daughter is ready," she said. "I need to find the time to be able to go, 'I'm taking this coat off for now and I'm putting my [stage] coat back on.'"
Waddingham has previously found meaningful ways to remind Kitty that she is always close, even while attending major Hollywood events.
At the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards, she carried a cardboard clutch her daughter had made.
"I picked it up and went, 'It's actually got more space in it than a normal, designer, ridiculous handbag, so I'm going to take it up the red carpet,'" she recalled. "I did it on purpose, to show her that she's never far away from me."
While filming Ride or Die with Octavia Spencer in Prague, Waddingham brought Kitty with her and enrolled her in an international school during the five-month shoot.
The actress also reflected on performing many of her own stunts in the action project, revealing she completed between 75 and 80 percent herself, though she admitted she "mangled" herself in the process.
Looking back on her career, Waddingham said she embraces finding major success later in life.
"An overnight success after 25 years is delicious," she said. "I'm very at peace with who I am. I'm more than happy to share that I'm 51 and proud of it."
