Drew Barrymore Reveals Being 'Jealous' of Other Kids Growing Up; Says It's 'Devastating' Not Having 'Traditional Family Dynamic'

Drew Barrymore opens up about her childhood and the reason behind why not having the traditional family dynamic with her children was devastating.

Written by Apoorva Rastogi , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 21, 2025 | 07:24 PM GMT | 3.2K

Drew Barrymore (Getty Images)

Drew Barrymore opened up about her struggles growing up and how that has impacted her view on raising her children. The Charlie's Angle alum had a chat with Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Zappa on The Drew Barrymore Show about her latest book that talks about parenthood. This led to Barrymore giving the audience a deep dive into her childhood and her current relationship with her children.

Drew opened up about wanting to be "capable moms" who are "trustworthy" with Zappa. She revealed that her separation from Will Kopelman was especially "devastating" because that led to her not having the kind of family she wished for all along. "Everything to me was very devastating and took me a long time to recover from if it wasn't in the traditional family dynamic that I swore I would do for my family because I did not grow up that way."

Talking about her childhood, she opened up about the small things that made her envious of other kids. She added, "It's weird stuff like that. It's soup when you're sick." She remembered all the "kids at school" being able to rely on their parents in cases of emergency.

She recalled that the other kids "would go into the office to call their parents when they were sick" but she could "never get a hold of anybody." 50 First Dates star revealed, "I was so jealous of those kids who would call and be like, 'Mom, Dad, come pick me up.' I just would sit there and be like, 'What's that like?'"

Barrymore has 2 daughters who she co-parents with ex-husband Kopelman,12-year-old Olive, and 10-year-old Frankie.

In another show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the actress admitted that she was "on this planet to raise girls."