Kelly Clarkson Makes Candid Confession About Parenting Daughter River Rose

It’s a sentiment Mariska understands all too well. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star shared how she’s experienced this in real time with her and husband Peter Hermann’s 14-year-old daughter Amaya. 

“My daughter was in gymnastics and she was in ballet, and she was so good at both of them,” she explained. “And then she said, ‘I don't want to do it anymore.’ And it's so hard because you're like, ‘Do I force them to do it?’ So, of course, I said, ‘Okay, honey. If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to.’" 

However, the tide turned as Amaya got older. 

“Then she's 14,” Mariska—who also shares sons August, 18, and Andrew, 13, with Peter—recalled. “And she goes, ‘Why did you let me quit ballet?’ I said, ‘Amaya, do you understand how hard it is to be a parent now? Do you get it?’” 

Kelly, for her part, has previously spoken about her candor with her children, especially as she and Brandon, who passed away after a yearslong cancer battle in August, navigated co-parenting following their 2020 breakup.

"I literally ask my kids every night when we're snuggling, 'Are you happy? And if you're not, what could make you happier?'” Kelly explained during a March 2024 episode of The Angie Martinez IRL Podcast. "Sometimes they'll say, especially the past two years, and it kills me and I want them to be honest, so I don't ever say, 'Oh god, don't tell me that,' but a lot of times it would be like, 'You know, I'm just really sad. I wish mommy and daddy were in the same house.'"

"They’re really honest about it," she continued. "I'm raising that kind of individual. I want you to be honest with me."

For more of Kelly’s parenting moments, read on.