Fred Sirieix opened up about the difficulties of becoming a father and revealed that he would have breastfed his daughter if he could strengthen their bond when she was a baby.
In a very candid interview in Giovanna Fletcher Happy Mom, Happy Baby Podcast On Tuesday, the First Dates host, 52, brought to light father guilt and the differences between how mothers and fathers bond with newborns.
Fred has two children, Olympic Team GB star Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 20, and her brother Lucien, 16, with ex-partner Alex Spendolini.
Reflecting on Andrea’s birth two decades ago, the TV personality said: “I remember when she was born thinking that women are so lucky because they give birth right away.”
‘You know, if you’re lucky enough to be able to breastfeed, as is the case for most women, puff up, put the baby on the breast.
Fred Sirieix opened up about the difficulties of becoming a father and revealed that he would have breastfed his daughter if he could have.
In a very candid interview on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast on Tuesday, the First Dates host, 52, lifted the lid on dad guilt (pictured with Andrea as a child).
‘That’s it, the link is made. I don’t have a chest. I can’t compete with your chest, I can’t compete with that.
She continued: “So it’s a very easy thing for a mother and then for mom, you know too… Because you know, it’s just natural.” You know, you follow the natural order of things, you know, that’s how it is, that’s how it is in the animal world.
‘And we are no different. We are mammals, right? So mom stays at home taking care of the child and dad goes to work.
‘And I know we can talk about whether men should have that and dada… Naturally, this is what happens. And there’s nothing you can do about the order of things.
‘Of course we can change things, but generally that’s what happens. (…) But, you know, it’s difficult, you know, because it’s like the guilt you feel as a dad.’
He bravely admitted that he “felt that guilt for ‘many years’ and wondered if he was ‘doing enough, doing enough, or supporting enough.’
“And I think this is something I wasn’t prepared for as a parent,” he added.
Speaking again about the differences between motherhood and fatherhood later in the episode, Fred said that when we talk about fatherhood, “it’s about the mother.”
Fred has two children, Olympic Team GB star Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, 20 (above), and her brother Lucien, 16, with ex-partner Alex Spendolini.
Reflecting on Andrea’s birth two decades ago, the TV personality said: “You know, if you’re lucky to be able to breastfeed, which most women are, blow, put the baby on the breast.”
He told presenter Giovanna: ‘And it’s fair. Do you see what I mean? But we do not give due prominence or due importance to fathers because we think that children are raised by their mothers.
‘I mean, there might be a single mother, but there are also single fathers and it takes two to have a baby.
‘But for me that idea of the separation between a man and a woman was very clear when Andrea was born, because I didn’t have breasts and I couldn’t breastfeed, because if I could breastfeed, I would have. . I would have done it.’
She also lifted the lid the first time she held her baby and admitted she felt “totally helpless.”
Fred said: “When my daughter came out, the midwife said, ‘Hey, this is your daughter, hold her.’
And I didn’t want to hug her because I was afraid. I was afraid I would catch it and drop it. I was so scared. It was like, oh my God, I didn’t know what to do.
And she said, “This is your daughter.” And she pushed her towards me gently, but I felt like I was throwing her into my arms and I hugged her.’
He revealed: I couldn’t move and sat down. There was a chair, you know, this is Grandpa’s chair in the room. And I sat down and didn’t move. And that was my first meeting with Andrea.
The Olympic jumper, now 20, is making her father proud and won a bronze in the synchronized 10m at this year’s Paris competition.
The Olympic jumper, now 20, is making her father proud and won a bronze in the synchronized 10m at this year’s Paris competition.
Speaking about Andrea, Fred added: “She had an incredible season, finishing second or third in the World Cup and third in the World Championships.
‘European champion, Commonwealth champion, British champion. The day is not the day, and you know, what can you do? The beautiful thing about Andrea, however, is the day when, of course, you don’t win and you’re sad.
“That same night we all had dinner together and Andrea was happy. And, you know, the emotions went away and I said, “Tomorrow is another day.”
‘Because also, let’s remember, you know, that the Olympic Games are one day. You know what I mean? I’m not going to start… And Andrea, she knows it and it’s not like…
‘Listen, honey, it was yesterday. Today is today. Today you are not going to the Olympic Games, tomorrow you are going to university. So let’s focus on that. You know, that’s… You know you won, great. Let’s think now about LA 28’.
Download Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast every Tuesday at 6am from acast.com.
