How do you balance a relationship with raising a toddler? Heed the wisdom of Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent. Us Weekly spoke to the pair about date nights and their daughter at the Family Equality Council 2018 Los Angeles Impact Awards on Saturday, March 17.
Brent opened up to Us about life with the Nate & Jeremiah By Design stars’ little girl Poppy: “It’s surreal. As cliché as it sounds, it’s normal. It’s so normal. We have our ups and downs,” he explained. “We’re raising a 3-year-old woman who’s very strong and independent. I’m woman-adjacent, but I am not a woman. I’m just trying to instill in her the principles of strength, grace, honor and truth. It’s a beautiful gift that we get to create our own story and share that with our daughter.”
The interior designers, who are expecting a baby boy via surrogate, make time for each other amidst the demanding lifestyle of parenting. They have date nights — Sunset Tower in L.A. is one of their favorite spots to frequent — but the couple confess that “sweatpants and Netflix” is their preferred escape.
That doesn’t mean they agree on what to watch, though. “He usually makes me sit through a sci-fi movie,” Berkus said. “I want those hours back in my life. I could care less. I like a period film.”
Meanwhile, Poppy turns 3 on March 23, and she already has big ideas for her birthday, although her parents might not go along with them. “She’s very excited. She has about 600 plans that she’s shared with us,” Berkus told Us. “We’ll make that decision as her parents as to how we’re going to celebrate her birthday. Both of us, we don’t really believe in toddlers’ birthday parties. I think it’s more for the parents, and more for her and her schoolmates and stuff.”
Brent admitted that there is one tradition they won’t skip: “I love the ceremony, like cooking a cake with her, or doing something small and celebrating it with family. It’s much more important to me.”
