Halle Berry celebrated her daughter Nahla’s special milestone in style on Monday with a sweet treat for the 17-year-old, who found out that she had received an early college acceptance offer. The proud mom shared a photo of a Sweet Lady Jane Funfetti cake that read, “You did it Nahla!” in white icing, along with the caption, “Congratulations to my sweet angel Nahla for her early college acceptance!” Halle shares Nahla with her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Aubry, before welcoming a son, Maceo, 12, with her ex-husband, Olivier Martinez.
The Oscar winner opened up about her eldest child flying the nest in a candid interview on the Today show, sharing that she couldn’t wait to see the adult that Nahla becomes. “She’s 17. She’s going to a college summer program, the college that she’s hoping to go to next year,” the actress explained in June.
“I’m not one of these moms that feels like, ‘Oh, she’s leaving,'” she added. “Yes, will I worry? Of course. But am I excited for her to start her life and figure out who she’s gonna be? Absolutely. I’m dying to see who she’s gonna be and what she’s gonna do and what she’ll discover.”
Halle further explained that she had worked hard to maintain her life outside of motherhood so that when both of her kids had moved out of home, all was not lost. “We can still be seen as good mothers, there for our children, but also, we have to be there for ourselves because these kids will grow up and move on, and if we haven’t maintained a life for ourselves, then what happens?” she said.
Learn more about Halle’s son Maceo below…
“What happens when our loves leave the house? What have we built for ourselves? So I think it’s really important to keep your love life, keep your career, keep the things that make you you, your hobbies, your passions, whatever it is. Keep those alive while you’re also being a mom.” The 59-year-old is fiercely protective of her two kids, and often posts photos of them with their faces obscured for privacy reasons.
© InstagramHalle explained on Instagram in 2016 that she wanted to give them the choice of privacy, rather than share insight into their lives before they were ready. “Let me be clear – I’m not at all ashamed of my children,” she wrote. “I try to find creative ways to incorporate them into my feed because they are the biggest part of my life, but I also work very hard to keep their identities as private as I can, considering they are only children.”
© Instagram“It’s my belief, and I’m not criticizing others who have different beliefs, that it’s my job as their mother to protect their privacy as best I can,” she continued. “When they grow and they’re of age and they want [to] share their images on the Internet, that will be for them to decide, not me. Feel me? Have a beautiful day.”
© InstagramHalle’s parenting journey has been marred by two bitter custody battles with Gabriel and Olivier. The Catwoman star was ordered by a judge to pay $16,000 a month in child support to Nahla’s dad, which she managed to slash to $8,000, plus a percentage of her annual earnings. As for Olivier, she was ordered to pay him $8,000 a month in child support too, as well as 4.3 percent of the income she receives over $2 million.
