Chrissy Teigen reveals two topics she won't take any criticism for on social media
Chrissy Teigen can handle a lot of the negative comments that she routinely receives on social media, but there are two topics that she won't take any criticism for: Her parenting and her cooking.
As Teigen, who is currently pregnant with her second child with husband John Legend, told AOL Entertainment during a recent sit-down interview, she has a thick skin -- but if someone calls out her food or nitpicks how she mothers daughter Luna, then it's game over.
"You can call me anything -- you can talk about my face, my makeup, my clothes, whatever," she told us. "But once you say my food looks bad or I’m not doing something correctly with my child, that’s when I launch."
Check out our full conversation with Chrissy Teigen below, where we talk more about social media, her latest gig as a Pampers Pure Creative Consultant, what her "biggest worry" is when it comes to having her second child and why she ultimately wants three kids.
You were recently announced as the new Creative Consultant for Pampers Pure. What does that mean exactly?
I’m so excited! We’ve been a Pampers family for my entire life: I grew up wearing Pampers, John grew up wearing Pampers and Luna has been wearing them since day one. Baby boy [will wear them], too, so they made me Creative Consultant which means that for the next year -- the next "season" of diapers -- I’ll get to design them and give my input now that I’ll be a mother of two by that time. It’s really fun, because I’ve done all sorts of things: I’ve done swimsuit design and my Revolve collection, so it’s cool to be able to sit down and do something very, very different. One of my favorite parts about having a two year old is seeing what she gravitates towards and the things and the colors and the animals that she loves. To be able to integrate that into the line is going to be really fun.
They’re really chic! There are so many kid toys in our lives that are pretty physically appalling [Laughs], so it’s nice to have some control over something that’s really chic and beautiful. Sometimes you have to compromise, you know? It’s like, "Do I want a beautiful diaper that looks great or do I want one that actually does the trick?" But with Pampers Pure, we get one that does both. It’s really nice that there’s no fragrance, no lotions, no parabens and no dyes, so you just know it’s really safe for them.
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How important is it to you to know everything that's in a product you use around Luna? Do you only use super safe, clean products?
Yes. It really is for my child. I will say, with me I will eat processed foods. I don’t think twice about it. My goodness, I used to talk on my cell phone in a tanning bed [Laughs] … you just don’t think of those things. So, you know what you’ve done to yourself. We’re all so go, go, go, but one thing we really think about is what goes into our children and what goes on them. We’re always much much better with our kids, so it’s really nice to have this option.
In the video announcing this new role, you said, "I don't have to compromise on giving her everything that she deserves." Can you explain that a bit more? Have you had to compromise on other things for Luna?
We’re lucky enough to be able to make choices when we can. Wherever we see fit, if there’s a product that we know is going to be great for her and her crazy sensitive tush and something that she’s going to be wearing 24 hours a day -- literally! -- then we want it to be the best for her. We cheat where we can. Of course she’s going to eat chocolate soon, she’s going to do this and that. But when it comes to her health and having such sensitive skin, it’s just nice to know that we can give her the best.
A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) on Mar 27, 2018 at 6:00am PDT
You get a lot of "feedback" -- to put it nicely -- on Twitter, but I'm curious if you've ever gotten any genuinely good parenting tips from social media?
Sometimes I’m genuinely surprised by something I didn’t know was a "no-no," and sometimes I learn things, for sure. I do think that sometimes it can definitely … it’s almost like they can’t help themselves! They’ll be like, “I know you’re gonna hate me for this, but I have to say it!" I’m like, "No, you don’t have to say it." I think a lot of people mean well, but it’s all about how things are said or presented. When it comes to that stuff, we all take parenting very seriously. For me, it’s food and parenting! You can call me anything -- you can talk about my face, my makeup, my clothes, whatever -- but once you say my food looks bad or I’m not doing something correctly with my child, that’s when I launch.
At some point people just need to realize that everyone has their own way of doing it!
Exactly. Sometimes social media doesn’t show every little thing that you’re doing. I will walk on the sidewalk from the car to inside the hotel and she’s maybe not wearing a coat, because anyone with a two year old knows what it’s like with a two year old sometimes. Then you’ll see the pictures and it looks like we’re just taking a stroll without a coat, and then I’m a mom that didn’t put a coat on her. People need to cut us some slack, because some people want to imagine the worst a lot of the time. Sometimes we’re just like everybody else.
Do you think your approach to being a mother will change at all with a second child? I'm from a family of four kids, and my mom has told me that her parenting style definitely changed as she had more children.
Aw, what number are you?
I'm three out of four.
I wanted four, but then I’m like ... maybe just three. I don’t know! I hear that this is going to happen, where I worry that Luna won’t be getting enough attention with the new baby, so I’m going to overcompensate and maybe give Luna too much attention and not give the boy enough. So, for me that balance is going to be really tough. Luna will always be our special little angel. But I know that when the boy comes out, me and the boy will have this incredible mother-son bond that is going to be like nothing else. I don’t know really. My biggest worry is the attention thing, and of course you want them to get along, but you just never know. [Laughs] It’s going to go up and down and back and forth, so I have no idea.
This time around is going to be so easy. I was telling John, "Remember last time we used to watch YouTube videos of swaddling?" We would just watch and practice, and now I’m like, "I got this!" I can do it one-handed now, it’s going to be so easy. I did the first birth with no classes or anything because I was like, "It’s going to come out somehow…" We’re animals, right?! So I just did it, and that’s how we’re going to do it [this time, too]. By three, it’s going to be so easy.
Does Luna understand that she's about to be a big sister?
No, not really! She’s not even two yet, so even if she could, I hear that when you bring the baby home they love it, but they don’t necessarily know it’s going to come back every day for the rest of their lives. The thing about Luna is that she’s a tough one to crack, but once you do, it’s all love. She loves big kids. She really looks up to them, but when she’s around younger kids, she’s very independent. So she’ll figure it out.
Last time we talked, you were still in the planning stages of your cookbook, "Cravings 2," and since then, you've seemed to be cooking a lot.
I finished it! I’m just writing acknowledgments.
Did you find that you had more to cook and experiment in the kitchen during your pregnancy? Surely you were spending a bit more time at home than you normally would've.
Yeah, definitely. I’ve been home a lot more, and I’ve had my mom around to help with Luna and making the cookbook. It’s definitely not as fun to do cookbook work as it is to cook in general. It’s exhausting! During pregnancy, I love cooking a lot more than eating. I’m very laser-focused on cravings and the one thing that I want that day. If I see a commercial in the morning, if I don’t have that thing that day, then I can’t stop thinking about it. Commercials are targeted for me because I’m the one that’s like, "Oh, okay!" I’m that person. Cooking is still a really nice release, though. I’m getting into baking now, too! I don’t know if you can see all my burns [points out scars on her hands], but I’ve been cooking out of the "Momofuku Milk Bar" book by Christina Tosi and it’s a toughie! But it’s so fun to do with Luna.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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