Constance Wu is speaking out about how difficult it was to return to work after giving birth and the unlikely actor who helped the process.
Wu, who gave birth to a daughter with musician Ryan Kattner in August 2020, reflected on the “emotional” experience of having to return to work for Amazon’s The Terminal List during an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter.
“My first day on set was hard,” she told the outlet during the show’s premiere. “I missed my baby. It was the hardest day to stay at work because it was so emotional, something so many moms go through on their first day back at work.”
While reflecting on her difficult return to work, the Crazy Rich Asians star also opened up about the support she received from her co-stars, such as Chris Pratt. She explained how Pratt also recently welcomed a newborn with his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger.
“He has another newborn now, but around the same time back then, Katherine and I had our babies around the same time,” Wu recalled. “Talk about someone who really understood what I was going through -- Chris was so supportive and kind and caring on set. I’m really fortunate to have had him as my partner.”
Pratt and Schwarzenegger welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Lyla, in August 2020. The couple recently welcomed another daughter, Eloise, in May 2022. Pratt is also father to son Jack, nine, whom he shares with ex-wife Anna Faris.
Wu, who did not share that she was expecting a child until the birth, previously opened up about her daughter during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in May 2021, where she said: “I had a beautiful baby girl in August. She’s the best, she’s the best. She has a full head of hair. She has a blue butt.”
While reflecting on motherhood with THR, Wu also acknowledged that it has allowed her to become more fully herself.
“I actually feel like I’m more myself than I’ve ever been because [motherhood] really makes you enjoy the present moment rather than always hustling to be someone or get somewhere or do something,” she said. “You get to enjoy your daughter trying a strawberry for the first time and truly it’s beautiful.”
Wu’s comments come after she recently shared that she had attempted suicide after backlash over her “careless tweets” about the renewal of her ABC sitcom, Fresh Off the Boat. In a series of posts, the actor said that the experience helped her acknowledge that Asian Americans do not “talk about mental health enough”.
