‘She sees me eating crisps and chips’: Hannah Waddingham shares importance of teaching her daughter positive messages about food and body image
The actress doesn't care about being a 'small woman,' and wants her daughter to see her eating
Hannah Waddingham has shared how she instils positive messages about food and body image in her daughter.
The 51-year-old shares 12-year-old Kitty Cugnetto with ex-partner Gianluca Cugnetto, and has been a single mother since 2023 when the couple parted ways.
During an appearance on the Just As Well podcast, Hannah shared the importance of her daughter seeing her eat, and not letting certain foods be off limits.
Hannah says, "She sees me eating crisps, eating chips, we'll go for a burger, and I'll always make sure we do that," revealing that she's an "horrific crispaholic" and it's the one thing she does sometimes try to keep "in check."
She balances this with eating an array of other foods, although does make it clear she will never be a "lettuce and air" person.
While the star works out and keeps herself in shape, she also doesn't want her daughter to think that people are defined by their bodies, modelling how to take a realistic approach to caring for her body in front of Kitty.
"I'm not small woman in any way, shape or form," she says, adding, "Do I like to look after myself? Yes. Am I obsessed with that? Absolutely not."
The standards Hannah is teaching her daughter are clearly paying off, as she shares the sweetest thing her Kitty once said to her when she was off to an awards ceremony.
Before she left, dressed in her finery, her daughter asked, "Mummy, can't you be comfy in your PJs?" that the actress says are a "knackered old pair with holes," because her daughter said that wearing her nightware along with no makeup, is when she sees her mum as her "most beautiful."
Hannah also reveals that Kitty "sees everything, all the time," including her down days, which is something she deliberately wants her child to see.
Sharing that they talk about "everything," the actress continues, "We talk about periods, we talk about babies - all of it, in quite a lot of detail."
"We have an epic relationship, really epic," she says. The actress had the same level of confidence instilled in her as a child, and is clearly handing this down incredibly well.
Recalling that she's been told by former male co-stars that she can't wear heels next to them because she'll make them appear small, Hannah has the ultimate response to hand: "Good luck with that my friend, stand on a f***ing box."
She explains, "I've always had the confidence to say that, maybe it was instilled by my parents, but nothing is worth capitulating to somebody else's inferiority complex."
She continues, "I'm just not having it, and I wouldn't expect any friend of mine, male or female, to be told that you need to diminish your light in any way, for them."
"I am the height I am, I'm not going to apologise for that," she says. When the clip was shared to Instagram, it drew in lots of engagement and support for the example Hannah is setting her daughter.
One person commented, "Striving for small is so boring. Celebrate strong and the size that is right for you!," while another added, "We need more women who think like her , especially in the business she's in."
Another fan wrote, "You are a beautiful woman. I love crisp and and chips too!"
