Idina Menzel‘s son is ready to step into the spotlight.
In a recent interview with Today, Menzel, 53, shared her thoughts about her son Walker, 13, whom she shares with ex-husband Taye Diggs, 54, recently joining her on the red carpet. While she’s previously shielded him from the spotlight, Menzel said as he fully transitions into his teenage years he insists on being by his mom’s side.
“He’s gotten to the age where he says, ‘I’m proud of you, Mom. I want to be with you.’ So then I felt like it was OK,” she told the outlet.
“I believe his anonymity is so important and yet he’s a teenager, and it was a hard decision to be honest, you know? But he really wanted to,” she added. “I’m proud of him, so I loved showing him off. But as a parent, I’m still conflicted about it.”
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Menzel told Today that Walker is currently homeschooled, so he can travel between California and New York to spend time with his parents. The Wicked star admitted she couldn’t be away from her son “more than a couple of weeks.”
“He’s my guy,” she told the outlet. “And he’s a very soulful, intuitive kid. He’s the best thing ever happened to me, really.”
The Frozen star loves motherhood. She told PEOPLE in August 2021 that becoming a mother was “really liberating” because it freed her from solely focusing on herself.
“When you had these beautiful, little humans that you have to worry about, it teaches you priorities and perspective,” Menzel said. “And you screw up every day in some way. But if you come from a place of love and forgiveness and try to be a stable, strong sort of rooted tree for your kids, and they know that … you’re not going to break.”
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Elsewhere in her interview with Today, Menzel opened up about her co-parenting experience with Diggs. The Broadway stars welcomed Walker in September 2009 before they amicably split in 2020. Despite not being involved romantically, Menzel and Diggs agree on one thing: putting their son first.
“I have to say that I’m very proud of that,” Menzel told the outlet. “We really don’t believe in putting a child in the middle of anything and forcing them to have to choose in any way, and we never speak poorly of the other. I’m really proud of us for putting him first.”
When asked about co-parenting during a 2022 interview with PEOPLE, the Best Man actor had nothing but praise for Menzel.
“She runs the show,” he said. “She has a career and she has her own relationships and she still makes sure that Walker is where he needs to be when he needs. He’s got the best coaches and the best teachers, and we’re at the best schools, and it’s all because of her.”
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