Seth Rogen was asked if he’d be “happier” if he had kids, and his brutally honest answer made people realize how rarely men are questioned about not having kids

Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller have been childless and happily married since 2011, and in a brand new interview, the actor opened up about their decision not to have children.

Appearing on The Diary of an Executive podcast this week, Seth talked in detail about his long career and how he became one of Hollywood’s most beloved comedy writers — noting that not having children “definitely” played a huge role in his success.

“There’s a huge thing I’m not doing, which is raising kids,” he said.

In response, host Stephen Bartlett asked Seth to weigh in on the opposite side of the debate, that being parents might have made his and Lauren’s lives “happier” – prompting Seth to strongly disagree.

“I don’t think it will,” he replied. “Obviously I’ve been with a lot of kids, I don’t know what it is… Everyone I know has kids. I’m 40, you know? I know.”

“Some of my friends have had children for decades. Some people want kids, some people don’t want kids,” he added, before going on to suggest that many people grow their families before even considering whether it’s really right for them.

“I mean, a lot of people have kids before they even think about it, from what I’ve seen honestly,” he said. “You’re just called, you go through life, you get married, you have kids – it happens.”

Speaking more clearly about his personal experience, Seth clarified that having children was something neither he nor Lauren ever wanted, adding that they have become more confident in their decision as they get older.

“My wife and I, neither of us were like that,” he said. “Honestly, the older we get, the happier and more affirmed we are with our choice not to have children. It was something we talked about more and were like, “Did we make the right choice, are we sure?”

“Now more than anything, the conversation is like, ‘Honestly, thank God we don’t have kids,'” he continued. “We can do whatever we want.”

“We’re in the prime of our lives, we’re smarter than ever, we understand ourselves more than ever, we have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for each other, and a lifestyle that we can live together with another that we’ve never been able to live with before, and we can just do that and not have to raise a child — which the world doesn’t need right now,” concluded Seth.

After the interview was published on Monday, fans spoke out in support of Super bad writer, with one person in the comments section praising his “authentic” and “genuine” response.

“It’s very refreshing to hear someone say, without shame or societal expectations, that they don’t want to have children and are happy with their choice,” they commented.

In agreement, others applauded his sentiment, noting that they had similar experiences with a childless marriage.

“Very refreshing to hear his reasons for not having kids,” another user added. “My wife and I think and feel exactly the same. Take away Seth!’

“100% right for kids. My wife and I are actively glad we don’t have them!” echoed someone else.

Aside from the praise, there were a few people on TikTok who noted that it’s actually pretty rare to see a man not only give such a detailed answer, but even be questioned if he doesn’t have kids at all.

It goes without saying that women have long faced public and invasive questions about why they don’t have children, with a number of huge names like Miley Cyrus, Helen Mirren and Ellen DeGeneres previously speaking out to quell speculation about their views on motherhood.

Oprah Winfrey, for example, is often asked if she doesn’t have children, prompting her to tell the Hollywood Reporter in 2013 that if she had children, they would “hate” her.

“They would end up being the equivalent of Oprah the show speaks to me because something [in my life] they were going to suffer and they probably were going to be,” she said.

Likewise, Dolly Parton is another celebrity who has spoken a lot about never having children, telling Oprah in 2020 that she believes it was never meant to be for her.

“I didn’t have children because I believed that God didn’t want me to have children so that everyone’s children would be mine,” she said. “If I didn’t have the freedom to work, I wouldn’t be doing all the things I’ve done. I wouldn’t be able to do all the things I do now.

As recently as last November, Jennifer Aniston opened up about her “challenging” fertility journey after decades of invasive speculation about her body and why she doesn’t have children, telling Allure that the persistent questioning was “really hard” for her to deal with.

So, given that this line of questioning has historically been thrust upon women — both in the celebrity context and in everyday life — people were almost surprised to see Seth tackle the subject as well.

“Nice to see someone get asked about this,” one person wrote, garnering more than 17,000 likes.

Other commenters responded by noting that this was actually the first time they’d seen a man in the public eye being questioned about their plans — or lack thereof — to have children.

“I have NEVER seen a man discuss this,” someone else added.

Of course, there were those who couldn’t help but feel that no one should ever feel in a position where they have to justify their reasons for not having children, publicly or otherwise.

“I love everything you said,” one person commented, adding: “why do the childless have to justify their choices?”

Another user called the question “condescending”, noting that people who have children are hardly asked to be responsible for this decision.

However, most people find Seth’s answer refreshing and will help normalize people’s personal decisions when it comes to parenting.

“Me! As a childless couple, we appreciate this type of conversation! 🥰,” one person wrote.

“YES! Just how my husband and I feel. Normalize it. It’s amazing. 🙌” someone else agreed.

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