Rachel Bilson opened up about “relinquishing control” while reflecting on her past pregnancy losses and the heartbreak of miscarriages.
“I’ve had miscarriages. So I’ve had losses,” Bilson, 42, revealed during the Monday, October 23, episode of her “Broad Ideas” podcast.
The O.C. alum explained that she “never carried” the baby long before suffering her miscarriages, noting, “They were early on.”
Bilson discussed the hard topic with cohost Olivia Allen and their guest author Libby Weintraub. Weintraub, for her part, wrote a book, She Was Born: Words on Loss and Liberation, to share her story about experiencing a stillbirth and multiple miscarriages of her own.
During their sit down, Bilson pointed out how pivotal it is for any pregnant woman to be able to roll with the punches with their birthing process because loss is a real possibility.
“With birth, I even remember going into [it saying], ‘I’m open to whatever,’” Bilson told listeners, remembering that she “always knew I was going to go to a hospital” and would not try a home birth.
The Hart of Dixie alum said it’s important to start “relinquishing control” while in the planning stages. “You have to do a lot with kids,” she shared, adding that pregnancy is a total unknown. “What plans can you make when it’s really not up to you?”
Despite having pregnancy struggles, Bilson welcomed her only child, daughter Briar Rose, in October 2014 with then-partner Hayden Christensen. Us Weekly exclusively confirmed in September 2017 that Bilson and Christensen, 42, called it quits after nearly 10 years together.
The exes have since worked on coparenting their 8-year-old. “It’s been going pretty well,” Bilson exclusively told Us in December 2020 of their family dynamic. “For her to have another house to go to, I think that’s actually been helpful. So, all in all, it’s been good.”
Bilson, meanwhile, earned cool mom points with Briar earlier this summer when she took her little one to see Taylor Swift.
“We left [the Eras Tour] early. Briar’s friend Aria danced her ass off to ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ — she was feeling it — and then just turned around, sat in her seat and passed out,” Bilson recalled during an August episode of her “Broad Ideas” podcast. “Everyone around us was laughing because it was so cute. Briar wanted to stay until the end but her two friends were just done. So we left early. Briar was mad about that. She was so mad.”
Although Bilson and Briar were at odds over leaving early, the mother-daughter duo enjoyed their time together. “It was so rad. The concert was amazing. Taylor is f—king just, I just bow down,” the actress continued. “I am obsessed. … It was a really cool experience except that was Briar’s first concert and I’m like, ‘Where do you go from here?’”