Olivia Munn Opens up About How Her Breast Cancer Journey Led to More Mom Guilt in Raw New Interview: ‘It Was Debilitating’
Mom guilt is pretty much universal. Who among us hasn’t felt bad for missing time with our kids to work (or a hundred other reasons)? But add cancer to the mix, and oh my goodness it’s hard. Mom of two Olivia Munn opens up about how dealing with breast cancer created more mom guilt in a vulnerable new interview, and as a breast cancer survivor (and mother!) myself, this hits so close to home.
The Newsroom alum is mom to son Malcolm Hi?p, 2, and Méi June, 1 month, with husband John Mulaney. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bilateral breast cancer in April 2023 and has had five surgeries since, including a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. Now, she is dealing with post-treatment medication that has her feeling exhausted and other side effects, and she can’t help but feel bad about the way it affects her parenting.
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“There is a lot of guilt that I had and still have from being sick for so long and being bedridden with so many surgeries,” Munn told TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie in a new interview. “I mean, I thought when I got through the big hunk of surgeries, like the four surgeries in the beginning, that I would be able to get back on my feet. But then there came the first wave of medication and that just knocked me down and it was debilitating. And I found that I was just tired and not around as much and I couldn’t hold them as much and I couldn’t go to the playground as much. And it was really exhausting. And there’s just a lot of guilt.”
Munn added, “But I work with my oncologist a lot to try to figure out what I can do. We’re just such a little family, we’re really tight and we have a lot of fun and we laugh all the time. And John is just the most amazing husband and father, and so we figure out a way to make it all work despite how tired I can be at times.”
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I got diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in Feb. 2023 at 29 years old with three young kids at home. I went through chemo, radiation, two surgeries (including a double mastectomy), and post-treatment medication as well, so I am — unfortunately — intimately familiar with how Munn feels. So many days, the only way I could connect with my kid was cuddling with them in bed while they watched TV, and I napped. The guilt was never-ending, and it almost crushed me. Not to mention the fact that treatment lasts so long, and our kids grow up so fast. The fact that Munn went through this too is reassuring. It’s true that moms really need a community, even if it’s just to help us feel less alone with things we are going through.
During the interview with TODAY, Munn also showed off her mastectomy scars for the first time. “I was looking in the mirror and I just thought, ‘I’m done being insecure about my scars,’” she explained, adding, “It was really scary but I feel like … this has been something I’ve been hiding for a long time now and it just feels like I can breathe a little more.”
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In an interview with Vogue in May, Munn opened up about her medication side effects and how that made her feel. “The side effects of the medication hit me almost immediately,” she told the outlet. “It was next-level, debilitating exhaustion. I would wake up in the morning and almost immediately need to get back into bed. If you asked Malcolm, ‘Where does daddy work?’ He’d run to his [Mulaney’s] desk, and if you asked him, ‘Where does mommy work?’ He’d point to my bed. It was so sweet. But at the same time, it was breaking my heart because this is his image of me.”
In order to get off the estrogen-suppressing drug Lupron that was making her so tired, Munn had an oophorectomy and hysterectomy to remove her uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.
“It was a big decision to make, but it was the best decision for me because I needed to be present for my family,” she explained. “I had friends try to cheer me up by saying, ‘Malcolm’s not going to remember this. Don’t worry.’ But I just kept thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to remember this, that I missed all these things.’ It’s his childhood, but it’s my motherhood, and I don’t want to miss any of these parts if I don’t have to.”
Now, the Hit-Monkey star is focused on moving forward. Munn, who welcomed baby Méi via surrogate, recently reflected on the difference her life is now than when she was in the midst of treatment. “This time last year I was recovering from my fourth surgery and now I’m hanging with my baby girl. ????,” she wrote on Instagram earlier this month.
Cancer is exhausting and horrible and trying to take care of young kids on top of that is a weight too heavy for anyone to have to carry. I’m so proud of Munn for speaking out about this and making women (like me) feel so much less alone. And BTW, our kids are going to be OK — mine already forgot what it was like to see Mommy without hair and that was something I worried would scar them for life.
Whether we are literally fighting for our lives or just trying to thrive in this world, there is no place for mom guilt. Let’s just take it one day at a time. We got this, moms!
Even when you’re famous, Mom Guilt is a thing, as these celebrity moms show.
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