'Gossip Girl's' Kelly Rutherford on Momhood — I Love Smelling My Kids!

Marion Curtis/StarPix
Marion Curtis/StarPix

Kelly’s 8-month-old and 3-year-old are “harder than any boot camp!”

Kelly Rutherford, 41, who plays Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl shared with us her secrets on how she manages her role as a mother to two young children, son Hermes, 3, and daughter, Helena, eight-months and a busy acting career. Kelly believes that both “help each other out [and] by a mother being fulfilled, she becomes a better mother,” she shared with us at the ECCO DOMANI Fashion Show in New York City on Feb. 15.

Here’s how Kelly plays both roles:

  1. How Kelly stays in shape: “I stay very busy. I chase after an 8 month old and a 3 year old. I guarantee you it’s harder than any boot camp,” Kelly shares.
  2. Kelly’s favorite activity to do with her kids:  “Just smell them. Cuddle them and smell them,” she says.
  3. Working moms can do both … work and raise a family! Kelly explains, “I think they kind of help each other. I think sometimes by a mother being fulfilled, she becomes a better mother. She has a lot more to offer. It’s given me a lot more to bring to my work being a mother. I have had such rich experiences to bring to work. So, I think they both help each other.”
  4. To a young mother expecting her first baby, Kelly says, “Sleep now. Get some rest and know that it’s a process. It’s a process every day. You just have to breathe a lot and really prioritize and know that your children are only little for so long. It seems like an eternity when you have your first child and they’re little. You think, ‘oh my god,’ my whole life is going to be just like this. And it doesn’t. It changes so drastically over night and it takes you a while to get your groove as a mom. No matter how many books you read, no matter how your birth goes, it takes time. It’s an evolution being a mom. You just have to continually adapt because your children are growing and adapting.”
  5. The one value Kelly teaches her kids: “I think the most important value is to always live with gratitude because we live in a world where we are so blessed. We are so fortunate. Also, giving back is probably one of the richest experiences that you have later in life,” Kelly tells us.

– Lindsey DiMattina