Ricci claimed that the lack of help from ex-husband James Heerdegen was why their son Freddie, nine, was never 'sleep-trained'
Christina Ricci opened up about the challenges of balancing her career and parenting her young children.
The 44-year-old actress shares son Freddie, nine, with her ex-husband, James Heerdegen, to whom she was married from 2013 to 2020. She is also mother to daughter Cleopatra, two, whom she shares with her husband Mark Hampton.
During Monday appearance on the "Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty" podcast, the "Yellowjackets" star explained why Freddie was never "sleep-trained" as a baby.
"I had to go back to work when he was two months old. And my husband at the time wouldn't help me at all with anything," Ricci claimed of Heerdegen.
CHRISTINA RICCI CONFESSES HER DAUGHTER ‘DIDN’T KNOW' HER WHEN SHE CAME HOME FROM FILMING
Christina Ricci claimed that her ex-husband, James Heerdegen, did not help her "at all with anything" when their son was a baby. (Getty/Christina Ricci Instagram)
She continued, "I had to do all the night stuff and get up and go to work for 14 hours and be on camera."
"So the only way I could do that was to lie with him and he would breastfeed whatever he wanted and sleep with me, and I had to have him in the bed with me just to get enough sleep to be able to work the next day," Ricci added.
"So that like again, set me up a little bit for him not being sleep-trained, which isn't great. But I was doing it basically on my own, so that part is tough. But I think we just get through it. Just keep going."
"I just repeat to myself all the time, 'It's temporary. It's temporary.'"
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ricci's representative and Heerdegen's lawyer for comment.
The actress and Heerdegen were married from 2013 to 2020. ( Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for EJAF)
Ricci and Heerdegen's marriage ended after seven and half years in an acrimonious divorce. In January 2021, a judge granted Ricci's request for a restraining order against Heerdegen after she alleged that he had been abusive to her. At the time, he denied all accusations of abuse.
After a bitter custody battle, they settled their divorce in December 2022. The "Addams Family Values" star was awarded primary custody of Freddie, with the former couple sharing joint legal and split physical custody.
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Shortly after the split, Ricci began dating Hampton, and the pair announced that they were expecting their first child in September 2021. They tied the knot two months later and welcomed Cleopatra in December 2021.
During her podcast appearance, Ricci told Doherty that returning to work shortly after giving birth to Cleopatra was "much easier."
Ricci and Hampton tied the knot in October 2021. (Getty Images)
"Now I have a wonderful husband who does more than — because, again, I went back to work when she was two months old," Ricci said. "I went and shot ‘Wednesday’ in Romania when she was two months old, and Mark did every single night all night long," she said.
"Like I just slept and worked the next day, and it made such a huge difference," Ricci continued. "It was so much easier this time around. You know, you have to have a good supportive partner."
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However, the Emmy Award nominee admitted that her hectic work schedule has taken a toll on her relationship with her children at times.
"Last year, I was commuting back and forth to Vancouver for ‘Yellowjackets.’ She didn't know me," Ricci said of Cleopatra. "We had no bond. So that was very upsetting."
"My kids do not like it when I travel," she added. "When I'm away, I try to take my son with me as much as I can."
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However, Ricci noted that commuting as a family of four can get "expensive."
"If you're a series regular, you have to pay for everything, so I can't ... every time I go up and down, I can't pay for four people, four flights, you know, and the rooms that you would need and all ... it's just too expensive to travel with everybody all the time," she said.
"So it is difficult,’ Ricci said. "I try to manage it. I try to just get back as often as I can. I think really the thing that I learned, especially with my son, was just mixing him into my work life. You know, why can't he come for the weekend to a convention and see what it's like?"
"So I've been able to sort of mix him into my work life in a way that's been good," she added.
Ashley Hume is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
