In this week’s episode of HELLO!’s Second Act podcast (which you can listen to via the embed below), comedian and actress Ellie Taylor opens up about her son’s traumatic birth, how she manages a marriage role reversal, how she ditched self-sabotage in her Second Act and why she views her husband as a coworker.
We've opened up comments on this article and would love to hear your thoughts on any of the issues Ellie discusses – but are particularly keen to hear if you agree that couples with children are less like husband and wife and more like CEO and CFO. Is that your experience or did you manage to keep the romance alive?
Turning 40 was a pivotal Second Act moment for comedian Ellie Taylor as she spent it pregnant with her second child. “It was a strange time because I was a geriatric mother…young enough to give birth, but old enough to be on WhatsApp groups called 'perimenopause',” the now 42-year-old tells Ateh Jewel on this week’s Second Act podcast. “My 40th was not a big deal at all. I need to redo it and have a big party.”
The star of Ted Lasso had been due to perform at The Royal Variety Performance when she dramatically went into premature labour at 36 weeks with her second child to husband Phil Black, who she married in 2015 after meeting in an office lift.
When she returned to work eight weeks after giving birth, she and former CNN reporter Phil, decided it would be easier for him to stay at home in London with their children, daughter Valentina now seven and her two-year-old son who Ellie affectionately nicknames Rhino. But she admits on this week’s Second Act podcast that she finds navigating the role reversal tricky.
“It's hard for sure, but that's just marriage isn't it, particularly marriage with young kids,” says Ellie, who wrote bestselling novel My Child And Other Mistakes about her experiences of motherhood.
“It's like we're just coworkers at the moment. And I assume in a few years we'll tap back in and actually be able to have a life.
“I don't know anyone in my life who has the same setup as us with a stay at home dad. So we are making it up as we go along. And it's really interesting when the classic power dynamic of the mum at home, dad at work shifts.
“I find myself micromanaging. I am their mother so I feel I should get involved, but I need to let him do his thing. There's no example for me to follow here, which I find difficult and probably great at the same time.”
While most would find the prospect of performing stand up in front of packed arenas terrifying, she says she has never felt more scared or vulnerable than when she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing alongside Johannes Radebe in 2022. ‘It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done.”
Her Second Act advice? “Never think you're too old. I thought I was too old (for stand-up) at 27, which is ridiculous. If not now, then when? Just have a go. I'm glad I've said all the yeses that I have.”