Last year, Colin Farrell gave a very rare interview about his first-born son, James. Colin and Kim Bordenave welcomed James in 2003. Despite Kim and Colin’s split, they’ve spent the past two decades amicably coparenting James and working together to help their son with special needs. James has Angelman syndrome. Up until recently, James lived at home, and Colin and Kim both had help. James turned 21 years old last year and that seems to have changed things significantly – Colin started a foundation to help adults with special needs. Colin also started thinking about his own mortality and what would happen if he wasn’t around. So… Colin and Kim have decided to place James in a long-term care facility.
Colin Farrell has made the hard decision to put his 21-year-old son James, who suffers from Angelman syndrome, in a long-term care facility.
“It’s tricky – some parents will say, ‘I want to take care of my child myself’, and I respect that,” Farrell, 48, told recently told Candis magazine (via The Independent). The “Penguin” actor explained to the outlet that he’s terrified what will happen to James if something were to suddenly happen to him or James’ mom, Kim Bordenave.
“But my horror would be, what if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?”
He added that James would become a “ward of the state” and they wouldn’t have a say in where he goes without a plan in place. The exes, who co-parent James, are looking for a long-term place together where they can go and visit him and “take him out sometimes.”
“We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected,” the “Banshees of Inisherin” actor explained.
According to Mayo Clinic, Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, mental disability, and seizures.
I think this is a good decision and it’s very likely that Colin and Kim were consulting with lawyers and specialists about what was best for James long-term. Colin can afford to put James in a good facility where his needs are met and he might even be able to have some independence too. I would also assume that the shift happened when James turned 21 last year and they wondered if his needs would be better served by full-time medical staff in that kind of care facility. They also began to worry about how he would be treated as a “ward of the state” if something happened to both of them, clearly.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 07: Colin Farrell attends the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on February 07, 2025 in Santa Monica, California.,Image: 961304887, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Colin Farrell, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon
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- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 23: Colin Farrell, winner of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for ‘The Penguin,’ poses in the press room at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 968388616, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Colin Farrell, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Celebrities arrive at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California Featuring: Colin Farrell Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 23 Feb 2025 Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com
All the best to Colin and Kim for making this incredibly hard decision to place their son in long term care. They did their very best to keep him home for as long as they could and I’m sure they are feeling sad but also knowing it is the very best that they can do for him. They found a place that will help their son and that they can be comfortable having him there.
The other aspect , this will be a big change for James. Most special needs persons do not like change. This way his parents will be around to help facilitate the change. So at least he will have one constant in his life.
This. I think this was a large part of the decision to do it NOW instead of waiting or putting it off.
My BFF has a sister with special needs (she has been her ward since my friend was 23 – both parents died young) and the sister wanted more independence in a group home. My friend says that the saddest, most horrible thing is someone arriving at the group home after their last parent’s funeral.
Planning ahead is a responsible thing to do.
My husband’s cousin with special needs has been living in a group home since her 20s (she’s in her 30s now). She thrives there. She has a job outside of the home, she has a boyfriend, she does fun things like go to concerts, she often goes home to visit her parents. She is living her best life as an adult with special needs. I think it’s the best situation she could be in and it was a decision that was made while her parents are still alive.
That’s heartbreaking about arriving after the last parents funeral.
I was thinking about the independence aspect too – living in a LTC facility might allow James to have more independence, socialize more, etc, within a safe and regulated environment. And he would be well established when his parents pass, even if its in 30 years.
I have friends who now regret not transitioning their son to a group home when he was younger. They always said he would be staying with them. Now they are getting older and the wait lists are so long that realistically he’ll only get in after they are gone. And he’ll be in late middle age and it will be much harder to adapt.
But the benefits cliff that looms when a child with high support needs turns 21 is terrifying. We fund all sorts of programs as part of the education system. Adults are left on their own.
Good on Colin. I hope he leads the way for people being more open and respectful about the tough choices loving parents have to make.
I’m sure this was a difficult decision, and I wish them all the best. I used to have the biggest crush on Colin and I still really like him as a celeb and actor.
I totally respect that their decision is what’s best for their son. As for being subject to a “ward of the state,” aren’t their wills and trusts that could be set up for when the parents are gone? I’m sure that’s been planned out.
They might not have had any one that they felt comfortable naming as his guardian once both of them died.
I can’t imagine how scary it is to think about your kid with special needs being taken care of after you’re gone. I wish them all the best. I will say that in a neighborhood where I regularly walk is a long term care home that is a very nice house on a quiet street with a lovely garden and only a few patients. If you can afford it, I think the care options can be pretty terrific.
I absolutely respect this and it seems like they have made a very thoughtful choice. I hope James will get some good interactions there and continue to grow and enjoy life as he can!
Yes. I work for an organization that supports people with disabilities and we serve a lot of adults who live in group homes and facilities. The sense of community is really special, in my opinion. I know parents agonize about making these decisions so it’s nice to see adults thriving with people who are facing similar challenges and staff who understand their needs.
What a tough choice to make, but it really can be good to move into assisted living for a young person like James. Turning 21 cuts someone off of established programs. I imagine Colin and Kim looked at a lot of places before making their choice. Thank goodness the boy’s parents can afford to be very picky.
My good friend has a child with Angelman syndrome and has met Colin a few times at some annual fundraising event. She have nothing but glowing things to say about him and the way he advocates for his son. This must be such a bittersweet decision for them, believing it’s the best thing for him but also feeling, I’m sure, guilty about it.
Hey, Anna S, my friend used to date a guy whose brother attended the Special Olympics and she got to meet Colin, his erstwhile partner / James’s mother, and James years and years ago. She said the same thing – that Colin seemed like a great dad to James.
I work in the disability field and IMO all the money in the world won’t necessary make it better for someone living with James’s level of disability experience the best quality of life at home. At a care facility, he will have the kind of specialised care plus interaction with others living with disability that he can benefit from.
I have interacted with extremely wealthy people who have children living with severe disabilities and money does not solve everything for them, though it makes things much easier in some cases. It’s also unbelievably mentally taxing to just have to make these major decisions. Sometimes these wealthy or not-so-wealthy family members have the energy and intention to keep being the chief decision-makers but don’t have the technical/policy/procedural knowledge to make the best decisions. With the state involved, you have professional public guardians who are trained and knowledgeable and held to account to make objective decisions about their care – which can involve really technical things with legal implications (for example, restrictive practices and other healthcare considerations). And of course, what if something happens to the parents – which is what Colin is concerned about – and you don’t have anything in place?
Colin seems pretty private but has spoken out and shared things from time to time and it’s all been to raise awareness of the challenges of people living with disability, IMO.
In all, I think Colin seems to have made the right decision for James and himself. Wish them all the best.
In the U.S., schools have to provide educational services until age 21 to students who can’t earn an academic diploma. I’m sure having him in school full time was tremendously helpful to both the parents and child. Sitting around at home with a caregiver for all the hours he would have been at school would probably be boring and terrible. I’m sure they’ve picked out a place that will suit his needs — both physical and emotional.