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ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog Reveals She Had 'Difficult Time' During Early Years Of Parenthood; See Why Here
Agnetha Fältskog discusses the challenges of becoming a parent at a young age, focusing on her own experiences. Read on to learn more!
The CW's May 11 premiere of ABBA: Against All Odds shed light on Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus' challenges. Their hectic lifestyle as members of one of the world's most famous bands in the 1970s occasionally caused them to leave their infant daughter Linda behind. Ulvaeus once described this experience as "horrible," referring to a time when Linda lost the ability to recognize her parents.
The new CW documentary ABBA: AGAINST THE ODDS, which delves into the history of ABBA, delves inside Fältskog and Ulvaeus struggle to strike a balance between family and superstardom. It debuted on Saturday, May 11. The couple, who started dating in 1969 and got married in 1971, had two kids together: son Peter Christian, who is now 47, and daughter Linda Elin, who is 51. (They parted ways in 1980.)
Early parenthood challenges for ABBA
Fältskog described her early parenting years as "a difficult time for me." Fältskog, who is now 74, stated in the documentary, "We got our daughter in '73, so she was just one year old when we won in Brighton," alluding to ABBA's famous 1974 win with "Waterloo" in the Eurovision Song Contest.
She clarified that everything occurred at the same time, which was, in her opinion, fairly typical. It's common, she says, for someone to want to start a family and pursue a career at the same time.
Ulvaeus, now 79, stated that as new parents, they had to leave their infant for what he believed to be "a fortnight [or] three weeks" to compete. ABBA's hit song had a significant impact at Eurovision that year.
Ulvaeus remembered that their daughter had not recognized them when they had returned, calling it a "difficult experience." Fältskog concurred and remarked, "That was awful," taking into account their daughter's young age.
In the documentary, Fältskog addressed the conflict between pop success and motherhood, saying, "You always manage to make them aware, but it takes a lot of work." She recognized the difficulties in juggling her responsibilities as a mother and a band member, and so did ABBA.
Fältskog continued, "It's very hard to do it all." Parenthood also encouraged the couple to travel alone when necessary since the documentary included an instance in which ABBA was flying to Warsaw, Poland, and Fältskog had already arrived after boarding a separate aircraft.
Ulvaeus said in the band's vintage 1970s video that they attempted to fly alone whenever possible because they had a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Fältskog said, "I've never liked it, and now I'm very, very scared of it," after mentioning that she had been around the world by air.
ABBA's journey through adversity
Ingmarie Halling, who was ABBA's makeup and costume designer, went into further detail on the relationship between Fältskog's dread of flying and becoming a parent. She remarked, "I'm sure other parents would resonate in the same way. The two parents take off together. What if, just what if?"
The making of the band's chart-topping smash, The Winner Takes It All, which came about after Fältskog and Ulvaeus' seven-year marriage ended in divorce, is also covered in the new documentary.
Anyone who has gone through a divorce will attest to the difficulty of the process, naturally, that was occupying my thoughts. However, in our case, there was no winner," he remarked.
One of the best songs from the 1980 Super Trouper album, The Winner Takes It All, was released prior to the breakup of Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It went beyond the music alone. It was love, too. Together, they lived that life. All four of us, somehow," remarked Lyngstad, 78, while Andersson, 77, concurred, saying, "That was powerful." Probably one of our best.
The song "suddenly got a bit heavy," Fältskog added, characterizing it as "a bit tragic." The James Rogan-directed documentary ABBA: AGAINST THE ODDS delves even further into the band and its legendary tale, which came to an abrupt end when the group broke up in 1982.
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