The 'Ugly Betty' alum felt 'so lucky' to have the 'Scandal' actress to lean on when she struggled to navigate motherhood after giving birth to her first child.
- Jan 6, 2024
AceShowbiz - America Ferrera has thanked Kerry Washington for "saving" her by offering her some much-needed parenting advice. The "Ugly Betty" star has revealed she leaned on her pal for help after she went back to work 10 weeks after the birth of her first child - son Sebastian - and she says mum-of-two Kerry gave her some excellent tips on juggling motherhood with work.
"I went back to work when my son was 10 weeks old. And I was so lucky to have Kerry Washington as a friend, who had two of her babies while she was on [TV show] 'Scandal'," America told PEOPLE magazine.
"I remember asking: 'How do you do it? How are you on a TV show and have a newborn baby? What am I going to do?' And she gave me the most detailed instructions, down to the exact Pack n Play [play pen] for my trailer. It was like she just saved me."
America is now mum to two children with her husband Ryan Piers Williams after welcoming a daughter named Lucia in 2020 - two years after she gave birth to Sebastian. She told the magazine her relationship with Ryan - who she has been with for 15 years after meeting at university - fills her with pride.
America added of her spouse, "[The relationship is] one of the things I'm most proud of in my life. We've grown together. He is incredibly present and a hands-on father, but he also really cares about my dreams. I think of his dreams as my responsibility too."
America has previously credited her husband as incredibly "helpful" after the birth of their kids, but she was left feeling isolated and alone after he suffered a COVID-19 scare shortly after she welcomed their daughter in 2020.
During an appearance on "The Jess Cagle Podcast with Julia Cunningham", America explained, "He had a COVID scare early. So I think I was home from the hospital one week with a brand new baby and he got sick. And he took a test but it was back when you had to wait 72 hours for [the results]."
"It wasn't easy to get a test or results. He spent 72 hours locked up in a room sleeping while I was up with a baby all day, I wanted to kill him. Like the second those results came in, I knocked on the door and was, 'You don't have COVID, get out! Take the baby ... I'm taking a bath.' I will never forgive him for abandoning me for 72 hours, but, you know, he was doing the right thing, I guess."
