Charlize Theron gets candid about her daughters on new heights
- By Sarah Brohi -
- Apr 29, 2026
Charlize Theron gave a peek into her dating life and the unexpected role her daughters now play in it. The Oscar-winning actress appeared this week on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she shared that her children have become some of her most enthusiastic supporters when it comes to romance.
“My kids are at an age now where they actually enjoy that I’m dating because they want to be involved,” Theron said. “It’s really funny how I was scared they’d be threatened by it, and now they’re like, ‘Mom, is he texting you? Like, go on the date, mom.’” That encouragement, however, does not translate into a desire for a more traditional living arrangement. Theron was clear about what she envisions and what she does not.
She further mentioned, “I really mean this, people think I joke, I don’t think I could ever live with somebody again. I would love for you to be close, like buy the house down the street, but I don’t know if I can”.
She added that her perspective could evolve. “Maybe it’s because I still have my daughters in the house, and maybe that will change when I’m an empty nester, but I’m looking for something very specific,” she said.
Barrymore, who is also a mother of two, said she sees a shared perspective in Theron’s approach. “I love also prioritizing my kids, and that has never felt like the wrong move for me, and you seem the same way,” she said. Theron agreed, “It’s impossible not to. Your kids come first. They always come first”.
The South African actress adopted her eldest daughter, Jackson, in 2012, and her younger daughter, August, in 2015. She has long spoken about her decision to build her family through adoption, emphasizing in a 2018 interview with PEOPLE that it was always her intention.
She also mentioned, “Even when I was in relationships, I was always honest with my partners that adoption was how my family would look one day. This was definitely not a second option for me. It was always my first”.
She has also addressed the responsibilities she feels as a white mother raising two Black daughters. In a 2018 interview with ELLE, Theron said that growing up during apartheid in South Africa made her “hyperaware of equality and human rights,” and described the promise she made to herself as a parent.“I want them to know who they are, and I want them to be so f—ing proud of who they are,” she said.
More recently, the actress has been open about the realities of parenting older children. On the April 22 episode of the New Heights podcast, she offered a candid response when co-host Jason Kelce, 38, a father of four young children, asked what lies ahead. “They just turn into hormonal nightmares,” Theron joked. “Like, I’m getting my a– handed to me from the moment that I walk into the house.”In a separate interview, she also reflected on how her children can bring a sense of perspective to everyday moments.
At the premiere of her latest film, Apex, Theron shared that her daughter, August, joined her during rock climbing training sessions with professional climber Beth Rodden. “Sometimes, as an adult, you get so caught up in the mechanics of it,” Theron told E! News. “And then you just look over and these kids who know nothing, they’re just like, ‘Gotta get to the top.’ And you’re like, ‘Okay, that’s all I have to do. Just get to the top.’”