Seth Rogen has spoken candidly about why he believes not having children has helped him “succeed,” and why he and his wife Lauren Miller are “very happy” they are not parents.
The Pineapple Express star, 40, opened up about the ways in which his and Miller’s decision not to have children has positively impacted their lives during an appearance on Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO podcast.
“That has helped me succeed as well. Definitely,” Rogen said, after Bartlett brought up the topic of the pair not having children.
After Bartlett responded with slight surprise, Rogen explained that not being a parent means “there’s a whole huge thing I’m not doing, which is raising children”.
Bartlett then argued that some might say Rogen would be “happier” if he and Miller were to have children, to which the actor said he doesn’t agree.
“I don’t think it would. I’ve been around, obviously, a lot of children, I’m not ignorant to what it’s like to … I’ve seen everyone I know [have] kids, I’m 40. Some of my friends have had kids for decades, you know?” Rogen said. “Some people want kids. Some people don’t want kids.”
The actor then suggested that “a lot of people have kids before they even think about it”.
“Honestly, you just are told, you go through life, you get married, you have kids. That’s what happens. And me and my wife, neither of us were like that,” he continued. “And, honestly, the older we get, the more happy and reaffirmed we are with our choice to not have kids.”
According to Rogen, over the years, he and his wife, who married in 2011, have discussed whether they made the right choice, and ultimately decided that they were happy with their decision not to become parents.
“Now, more than anything, the conversation is honestly, thank god we don’t have children,” Rogen admitted, adding: “We get to do whatever we want, we are in the prime of our lives, we are smarter than we’ve ever been, we understand ourselves more than we ever have, we have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for one another, and a lifestyle we can live with one another that we’ve never been able to live before.
“And we can just do that and we don’t have to raise a child, which the world does not need right now.”
Rogen then reiterated that he and his wife are “very happy” with their decision to not have children, with the actor noting that he sees “definitively” that he has more time to do the things he needs to do and the things he enjoys doing.
“Me and my wife seem to get a lot more active enjoyment out of not having kids than anyone I know seems to get out of having kids,” he added while laughing.
On Twitter, Rogen’s candid honesty has been met with praise from fans, with one person writing: “I love this.”
“I don’t like Seth Rogen, but I agree with him about not wanting kids,” someone else wrote.
Rogen and Miller met at a birthday party in 2004. The couple announced their engagement in 2010 before tying the knot in 2011.
