In the February issue of marie claire (out January 7), Lara Worthington opens up exclusively about giving birth to her third son during the pandemic, raising boys and leaving behind the body issues that plagued her early 20s.
Worthington, who shares three children with husband and actor Sam Worthington, reveals she was nearly forced to give birth alone in March as the pandemic set in. “I started to get very worried,” she recalls. “But I had a brilliant doctor and thankfully Sam was allowed to come.”
Lara opted to leave the LA hospital within 24 hours of giving birth, due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. “I was super nervous; I just wanted to get out of there. It was a really weird experience.”
The notoriously private couple—also parents to Rocket, 4, and Racer, 3—have opted to keep the name of their littlest one to themselves. Lara justified the decision simply: “I just think there’s not many things in life that are a mystery these days.”
Due to return to Sydney in January for Sam to star in the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Appropriate, Lara gushes of the pair’s special connection. “We work together really well; it gets better and better, to be honest,” she says. “I think that’s why we keep having more kids because it’s a very enjoyable family. We’re happy, and the kids are happy, and Sam is super present.”
As someone who’s been hounded by the paparazzi since the age of 19, even helming her own reality TV series at one stage, Worthington is now candidly reflective about how that early exposure shaped her relationship with her body. “I don’t know if that was to do with the industry, but I really have come out of that full circle. I have more control now.” She believes motherhood reframed her priorities. “Before I had kids, I was always trying to get skinny or be a certain weight. My mind was so focused on that, and then the moment I just let myself be happy in my body and had kids, it really changed for me. I feel like my whole early 20s were just so centred on body issues. Having a baby changed my body for the better. It’s like my body was meant to have kids, and maybe that’s why I’ve had so many and would happily have more!”
Lara has also turned to philanthropy, recently making her beauty business, Share The Base, a non-profit entity. She now donates 100% of profits to three separate charities, each chosen by the customer at checkout. “I didn’t want it to be about me anymore; I wanted to be making a difference,” says Lara, who last year donated over $100,000.
Shot by Darren McDonald in the Californian wilderness (about four hours’ drive from her LA home), Lara did her own hair and makeup, and styled the shoot herself using clothes from her own wardrobe. The team of two wanted to capture the feeling of freedom that hopefully will return in 2021. Lara says the resulting photographs are some of her favourite ever captured: “It was a special time.”
Read more of our exclusive interview with Lara Worthington in the February issue of marie claire Australia, out on January 7.
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