She has a hot new show and is in the midst of a remodel of her L.A. home, but forRachel Bilson, motherhood always comes first.
“Being a mom is No. 1 for me and it always will be,” Bilson — who has a daughter, 3½-year-old Briar Rose, with her exHayden Christensen— tells PEOPLE for this week’s issue. “Anything I choose to do for work has to be something I really want.”
Bilson is also open about the challenges of co-parenting with Christensen, 37, whom she dated for 10 years beforethey split last September. “We’re still kind of trying to figure it out,” she says of their “work in progress” dynamic with Briar. “It’s a tricky one. And I don’t know that there is any right way, necessarily.”
“We say Mommy has a house and Daddy has a house but she’s pretty young to have an in-depth conversation,” continuesThe O.C.alum. “Most important for me is that Briar is okay and secure and stable. Nomatter what I’m dealing withor how much it hurts or how much anger there is, it’s just about her.”
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Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen in 2013
“My mom was a great mom,” says Bilson. “My parentswent through a divorce andshe showed me nothing but love so I was totally secure and okay when she did.”
Ultimately, “Briar needs to feel loved from the people she loves the most,” the star explains. “She has that love that is unconditional so I think we’re doing okay.”
As Briar gets older, Bilson says she sees elements of both Mom and Dad. “She’s strong-willed and pretty funny like me,” she shares. “And she’s super athletic like her dad!”
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Rachel Bilson
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These days, the mother of one cherishessmall moments with her daughter: baking cookies and muffins (“She’s the best egg cracker!”) and singing Disney songs.
“I’m doing everything right now,” says Bilson. “I’m working and I have my girl and I have this cool house with the bunk beds that she really wants. I don’t really know what’s next, but I’m enjoying the moment.”
Take Twoairs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST on ABC.
For more from Rachel Bilson, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
