Jennifer Lawrence’s 20s were a haze of nonstop work, awards seasons, Doritos and chaos. When she met her future husband Cooke Maroney, she really began to slow down and be more selective about when and where she worked. They got married in 2019, and they welcomed their first son in February 2022. Jen gave birth to their second son last year. She’s very much in the zone of having two kids under the age of four. Which I think influences how she talks about her career and explains why she just referred to herself as a stay-at-home mother.
Jennifer Lawrence might be one of Hollywood’s most elite actresses, but she still considers herself a stay-at-home mom. The Die, My Love actress, 35, appeared on a Monday, Jan. 12 episode of the SmartLess podcast and shared that she thinks of herself as a stay-at-home mom rather than a working actor. Lawrence is mom to sons Cy, 3, and a second baby, whose name has not yet been revealed, with husband Cooke Maroney.
“That’s me. I identify as a stay-at-home mom,” Lawrence said on the podcast. “But I am obviously working.”
“I’m not used to being busy like this. I normally have a busy three months while I’m filming, but even in that sense, it’s calm because there is nothing else to do,” she continued. “I just go to work, I do that, I come home, I sleep, and then I do it again. And then, like, two weeks while you promote. It is hectic.”
She also shared insight on her co-parenting relationship with Maroney, whom she described as the “opposite” of her.
“I married somebody who is the opposite of me. He is so organized. He’s an anchor,” said the actress. “Everything is ordered. I have to keep the closet doors closed, and I have my little jobs that I work really hard to do.”
“I get it now, I get it. [The kids are] on a very strict schedule. You know, it’s like breakfast: 7:30,” explained Lawrence. “He’s good at keeping it. But we’ve learned [that] to keep our marriage alive, I have a 15-minute wiggle room.”
I understand what she’s saying, and again, she mostly has been a SAHM in recent years. Since 2020, she’s only acted in four films. Do actual SAHMs feel like Jennifer shouldn’t call herself that though? Like, is it stolen SAHM valor? Is it middle-class cosplay from a rich, Oscar-winning actress? I don’t feel like it is, but maybe I’m just not seeing the controversy. I might be wrong, please let me know.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- Jennifer Lawrence at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1065233450, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Jennifer Lawrence, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
-
- Jennifer Lawrence at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1065245204, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Jennifer Lawrence, guest, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
-
- Jennifer Lawrence at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1065256980, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: guest, guest, Jennifer Lawrence, guest, guest, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
-
- Red carpet arrivals of the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California Featuring: Jennifer Lawrence Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 11 Jan 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Red carpet arrivals of the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California Featuring: Jennifer Lawrence Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 11 Jan 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Her dress was gorgeous and she looks phenomenal. I don’t understand why anyone would be upset at her calling herself a SAHM. She basically works part time and is with her kids the majority of the time.
But … working part-time when you feel like it, for a huge paycheck, is not being a SAHM? I don’t see the need for the hate she’s getting but, they are not the same. And a lot of SAHM moms do it because their family does not have the financial means to hire an army of nannies. It just seems a little tone-deaf to me and assuming a title she doesn’t really have. I mean, when I’m on vacation, I’m not a woman of leisure, I’m just on vacation for that week!
Eh. As far as I’m concerned, JLaw can refer to herself as a stay-at-home-mom if she likes, I don’t exactly feel this is “middle-class cosplay from a rich, Oscar-winning actress” because in no way does she suggest that she does any heavy lifting. I feel more like this is humble bragging, to be honest. I mean, “I just go to work, I do that, I come home, I sleep”: said no average mother with two kids under four ever.
No judgement, by the way. She’s earned that money, so good for her. I’m not saying in any way that it’s bad for parents to have help or for mothers not to be with their kids 24/7. Please, I would totally hire three nannies, a chef and a cleaner if I could afford it.
I read that line differently. She said she’s not used to being busy like this (the question that would make it clearer is what’s “this”). I took this to mean parenting? Now I realise I might have read that wrong. I thought she was comparing pre kids to now? But I’m probably wrong (I was giving her the benefit of the doubt because yes said no sahm ever!
But anyway, jlaw doesn’t usually read the room well, and still comes across like an naive ingenue which was cute way back but now looks childish. I don’t think she’s particularly intelligent though.
Honestly the mom space is so big and hard and fraught, with so many people willing to give opinions and criticize, I think women get to call it as they see it. At least she’s not doing a ‘poor me’ vibe.
Exactly this.
I’m more worried about her description of her husband as “so organized” and “ordered”. She has to keep the closet doors closed? Some red flags here I think 🤔.
LOL, I totally get what she’s saying. When my side of the closet is messy, I’ll hide clothes behind clothes — particularly on the upper shelf. My husband’s side is always perfect. I just do my best to make sure no one has to SEE the mess (probably a metaphor, but that’s a side note for my therapist!).
It sounds like her husband is policing her behavior. To me, that’s more of a problem than a messy closet. “And I have my little jobs that I work really hard to do.” Wtf?!
No way!
I don’t see it as a red flag at all!
I see it as she is a chaotic, messy person who started acting as a teenager and probably never learned how to clean or organize her space and thinks it’s a cute personality quirk. Remember Jessica Simpson? 😆
Once you start sharing your space with other people, especially a spouse and kids, you really gotta try to stay on top of your messes and maintain a clean home. She probably has a housekeeper but who wants to live in a messy bedroom? At least shove your mess in the closet and close the door!
I can’t go to sleep at night if my bedroom and my kitchen are not tidied up first.
Signed, a neat freak who married a messy ADHD person.
As a messy ADHD person, Dearest CheekImplant, thank you. Thank you for loving one of us. We’re a lot, I know. We can be hard to be friends with, hard to love, even harder to live with. So thank you for loving a messy, ADHD person, appreciating and understanding them so thoroughly, even though they probably drive you crazy at least twice daily! You’re doing angel’s work.
@GAIL:
😘
You are cracking me up!
😂
And you sound exactly like my husband!
You are correct though. It’s a lot to deal with. Plus, my Latina ass was raised by housekeepers, my abuela and my Tia, so it feels like it’s in my DNA!
Hubby and I have been together a looooong time so I’ve learned to recognize his strengths and appreciate them instead of only focusing on his chaotic messines!
For example, he’s the best father, he’s intelligent and he’s compassionate.
He’s been volunteering before he goes to work at our kids schools to help kids and teachers feel safe during ICE presence.
Like him, I’m sure YOU have qualities and talents besides your ADHD and may the people in your inner circle see them and appreciate them.
I think having order is necessary to keep from going mad in a house with kids. There’s nothing wrong with what Jennifer said about her husband. Right now she’s enjoying a very privileged life and there’s no reason to hate on her.
How is worrying about her hating on her? Okay I will stop worrying about her. I know nothing about her beyond what I just read here. And she sounded intimidated by her husband. Hope you all are right that it’s not a problem and their household needs someone to provide “order”.
I admit that the 15 minutes of “wiggle room” at breakfast is extremely generous. She should be so grateful! 😕
I was a SAHM for 15 years and I’ve now been working for 3+. It took quite a while, more than a year, really, before I no longer identified as a SAHM, and I was working 45-50 hours a week. IDGAF if anyone was upset.
Nah, she’s not a SAHM and it’s not offside to say so. She can work whenever she wants for millions at a time. She makes more in a day of part-time work than the majority of working moms make in a year.
Actual SAHM moms don’t get a paycheck. It’s quite insulting for her to say such things because she has the luxury to stay home when she wants (she’s got help the rest of us don’t have) and work when she wants. Most of us stay home because we have to, whether it’s because childcare is the same cost as what we’d get in our paycheck, or we have disabled kids, and can’t afford outside help (or for some of us, all of the above).
Totally agree. It’s minvan-majority cosplay for sure.
I feel people will argue over any and everything. There are some SAHMs who work part-time or occasionally and then quit. I can totally see it with J Law. Plus, as soon as I read the headline I went ohhh that makes sense. Her Golden Globes whole look and demeanor is SAHM, like “dang I got dressed up but whatever do I even want to be here, are the kids still on schedule” energy is all over her in that photo. She looks checked out for the event. And for those saying her hubby sounds like a red flag. To me he sounds like a neat and orderly person married to a messy and chaos person. She likes that he keeps order and he likes having a reason to keep order, if that makes sense. It doesn’t sound controlling. Marriage is all about these small compromises for the other’s comfort. As for 15mins wiggle room. My husband is not an on time person. When our son was small it would drive me crazy that he wouldn’t do things right on timed schedule. I had to learn that he’ll probably be 15-20mins off from the schedule and it was ok. I had to extend that.
Can we stop policing every single thing and save the outrage for things that matter? I am not a fan of hers but there is nothing wrong with what she said.
Eh, whatever…she can call herself whatever she wants. She worked nonstop for years and has really pulled back since marrying & starting a family, I get why she feels this way. This culture of gatekeeping and getting angry/annoyed over such trivial shit really needs to stop.