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Laura Dern: ‘Being a single parent is overwhelming and stressful’

Laura Dern says being a single parent is "overwhelming and stressful".
The 52-year-old actress has son Ellery Walker Harper, 18, and daughter Jaya Harper, 14, with her former husband Ben Harper – who she divorced in 2013 after eight years of marriage – and Laura admitted she finds parenting tough.
She told Modern Luxury’s Boston Common magazine: "On good days, I am kind enough to remember that there are growing pains, and it is all overwhelming and not easy or always fun.
"On the hard days, it’s stressful and there is too much going on as a single parent — and it can be hard to carve out a minute for yourself. I have never had anybody else bully me in my single parenting life. I am lucky to have champions around me, but I can definitely do it to myself."
Earlier this year, Laura revealed that being a single parent had made her more ambitious.
She said: "The more I learn about my mistakes as a mother, the deeper I enjoy how fully I love my children. Because I can let them know I really screw up sometimes. I hide from blame in a lot of areas in my life, but I’m trying not to do that as a mom.
"This is the first time in my life that I am being ambitious because I am a single parent. Raising kids gave me enough street cred to feel like I deserved the right to make money. This moment in my life is so sexy and freeing because I’ve had many relationships, I’ve had a marriage, I have my amazing children, so I’m not hiding who I am to get somebody who is willing to have kids or be married."