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Being a single mom of two young children isn't easy for anyone. But for somebody diagnosed with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), the reality of having little kids running around the house and making a mess can come with an extra layer of stress. That's the case for Charlize Theron, who opened up about her experience on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday.
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Theron — who adopted her 5-year-old son Jackson from South Africa in 2012 and daughter August, almost 2, here in the U.S. in 2015 — told DeGeneres that glitter in particular is something of an issue in her home. "There is way too much of it in the house," she said. "I don't buy it, but it's on those costume dresses, and so there's a lot of times when I'm walking through the house thinking I'm going senile. Because, you know, I have a little OCD thing, and I'm like, 'Where is this glitter coming from?!' And it's those princess dresses!" (As we know, Theron's son Jackson is a fan of princess dresses too — he joyfully dressed up like Frozen's Elsa last summer, prompting an important discussion clearing up some ignorant misconceptions about children and gender roles.)
But being a mom has also helped the 41-year-old manage her OCD. "I've gotten a little bit better. My kids definitely helped me be less anxious about a lot of that stuff... There are certain rooms now that I've let go and I've given up on, you know?" The actress added, "They're actually really good and I appreciate it."
And even though her kids' tantrums inconveniently coincide sometimes ("You think they'd stand there and be considerate like, 'Well, that one is freaking out right now, I'm not gonna freak out'... but they don't do that"), Theron finds the loving relationship between them to be amazing. "I'm an only child so I didn’t grow up with siblings, and so I had no idea the beauty that siblings have with each other," she explained. "Like, it really is one of the most incredible things I've ever witnessed, to see how much they love each other."