Billie Piper finds co-parenting with Laurence Fox "enormously" difficult.
Billie Piper has two sons with Laurence Fox
The 'Scoop' actress was married to the controversial broadcaster from 2007 until 2016 and she admitted she does her best to try and keep "consistency" for their two sons Winston, 16, and 11-year-old Eugene and "close everything down" when the outspoken presenter's rants attract attention.
Asked about co-parenting with Laurence, she told the new issue of Britain's Vogue magazine: "With enormous difficulty.
“I close everything down and keep a very strict routine with the kids so that there’s consistency. I keep them close. at’s all I can do.
“What is paramount for me is the privacy and anonymity of my children. They deserve not to be extensions of the parents and to forge their own identities.”
Billie - who also has five-year-old daughter Tallullah with former partner Johnny Lloyd - admitted the difficulties with Laurence have taught her "resilience" but it isn't always easy.
She said: "I try to keep people from telling me stuff but it’s really, really hard. I don’t read it but everyone wants to talk about it. Sometimes I have to say to people: ‘Please don’t bring this to me, now or ever.’..
“It’s made me feel stronger in many ways. I’ve learnt I have a lot of resilience I didn’t know I had. I’ve had to learn the hard way that you can only control yourself and how you react to things. It’s really hard."
The 'I Hate Suzie' star was just 18 when she married her first husband Chris Evans, who was 35 at the time, and she's amazed people still ask about their relationship, which ended in 2007 when she was 21.
Hailing Chris as "one of the good guys". she said: "People still ask me about it at parties. Strangers! It was 20 years ago. It makes slightly more sense to constantly be asked about husband number two, but even then I resent that because we’ve been separated for almost 10 years.”
Read the interview with Billie in Britain's Vogue magazine from 19 March or visit https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/billie-piper-interview
Tagged in Billie Piper Chris Evans Laurence Fox