Brooke Shields Prepares for Empty Nest with Mixed Emotions

Brooke Shields admits she is feeling a mix of sadness and anticipation as she prepares to become an empty nester. With her daughter Grier leaving home, the actress and model reflects on the challenges and joys of motherhood.

As her youngest daughter, Grier, prepares to leave home, Brooke Shields is grappling with the bittersweet emotions that accompany becoming an empty nester. In a recent interview with "Good Morning America," the 58-year-old actress admitted to feeling unprepared and emotional about the transition.

"I'm usually crying in your kitchen about this, so just get ready George [Stephanopoulos]," Shields told the host. "You think you're ready for it, and then people say, ‘Oh you're gonna have freedom.’ I just…I don’t know. I’m not really prepared for it."

Shields, who shares two daughters with husband Chris Henchy, has always been a devoted mother. However, she acknowledges that her girls will not be far away. "Our girls are so close to us," she said. "They're attached in the right way."

The actress met Henchy in 1999 when she introduced her new dog to friends on the Warner Bros. lot. "To this day I believe that I fell in love with Chris the day we met, but I would never tell him that!" she wrote in her 2005 memoir.

Shields and Henchy married in 2001 and welcomed Rowan in 2003 and Grier in 2006. Despite their mother's fame, the girls have remained unimpressed with her status.

"I'm not a TikTok influencer, so evidently I don't exist," Shields joked during an interview with People magazine in 2022. "I'm not quite sure how to crack that one, but I am getting demands for things like curling irons and boy issues all day long, so I guess I feel like I've done something right."

Shields' acting career has also been influenced by her children. When her kids were young, she played Miley Cyrus' mother in "Hannah Montana." The actress explained that her oldest daughter initially did not understand the acting concept.

"She was a baby, and she was in the audience, and I call Miley my baby girl, and Rowan stood up in the audience and said, ‘No! She’s my momma for real life!’ And she was incensed," Shields recalled during "Good Morning America."

Shields' journey as a mother has been filled with challenges and rewards. As her daughters embark on their own paths, the actress is adjusting to the next chapter in her life with a mix of emotions and the support of her loving family.