Mother’s Day: Fox News host Laura Ingraham on lessons learned in motherhood
Julia Johnson
EXCLUSIVE — Laura Ingraham may be the most-watched female host on cable news. But she’s also a daughter, a breast cancer survivor, and a mother.
In a Mother’s Day interview with the Washington Examiner, Ingraham discussed her children, her journey with cancer, and the lessons she took from her own late mother, Anne Caroline Ingraham.
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Behind the Fox News star’s confident and direct approach to news and frank commentary is a hard-working mother of three with the same worries and frustrations as every other mother.
“You think that kids, when they get older, you know, it’s easier. And to some extent it is,” said the Ingraham Angle host.
However, “The challenges and concerns in many ways get bigger … whether it’s school, or navigating romance, or social media — those kinds of things.”
Ingraham has been a mother since 2008 when she first adopted her daughter from Guatemala. She recalled the memory, further revealing that her daughter celebrated her 18th birthday a day before the interview.
“I felt so emotional because it was five minutes ago, it seems, when we picked her up from Guatemala,” she shared. “She was turning three a couple of days after she came to the United States in 2008. And that was the first — it was her first birthday in the United States and my first Mother’s Day.”
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Remarking on how quickly her daughter grew up, Ingraham said it was “terrifying” to watch her child grow into an adult.
“Honestly, it’s just — it’s terrifying,” she revealed. “But it’s funny, you know, every stage of being a mom, it’s obviously different.”
“It almost does get better as time goes on,” the television host explained. “For me, I mean, you can really have real conversations with them and, you know, you can share more of life with them. And our relationship has gotten better and better as time has gone on.”
“I’m so thankful for that,” she said.
She detailed that when her daughter was young, they would “butt heads,” as many parents and children do. “But now,” she began, “I’m finishing my show at night, her lights still on and, you know, we gab and gossip about her day. Same thing with me. And we just — it’s fun, you know.”
“I’m dreading her going to college and not having that,” Ingraham said. “It’s going to be sad for me.”
On her daughter’s birthday, she said, “I got so many texts from people who said, ‘You did such a great job. And she’s such a wonderful young lady and she’s so helpful,’ and that made me — they took all my doubts that I had about how to do things differently. And It just kind of washed it all away.”
“I just feel blessed. I think every day I thank God for these children. More so than anything,” she added.
If and when her own daughter becomes a mother, Ingraham hopes that she’s instilled in her the value of patience. That, and the importance of family prayer.
“I know my kids are good, and I think she will make those a part of her daily life. You know, to take the time to breathe and thank God for everything,” she said.
In 2005, the popular Fox News host was diagnosed with breast cancer. Crediting her faith in God and the power of prayer, Ingraham was able to beat the disease. Now a survivor, she revealed what her journey with the illness taught her and how it has affected her approach to motherhood.
For Ingraham, the bout reminded her that tomorrow isn’t promised.
“You just appreciate the time that you’re having when you have it,” she said. “And try not to allow the small stuff to make you sweat too much. I try to remember that — although as the years pass by, you forget these lessons.”
Her own mother, Anne Caroline, died in 1999 after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
Ingraham reflected on memories with her mother, noting that it’s the little things that have stuck with her.
“We used to have a Hallmark card shop,” she recalled. “My mother used to love to go to the card shop, and she would — I would hear her laughing across the store because of some stupid card. She thought it was the funniest thing and would scream, ‘Laura, Laura get over here you have to read this!’ I would just howl.”
“The little memories are the ones that matter,” she reiterated.” They bring in comfort.”
Among the lessons relayed to her by her mother were frugality, honesty, modesty, and a sense of humor.
Her mother grew up during the Great Depression, Ingraham remarked. Her frugality stemmed from this, she said.
“I still have that with me because my mother never lived beyond her means. You know, she was very careful with how she spent the money that we had,” she explained.
She joked that her children keep telling her to replace her car, but she doesn’t, telling them, “I don’t need a new car. The car works fine.”
Her mother’s work ethic similarly influenced Ingraham.
“She never quit,” she recalled of her mother. “She was a waitress until she was about 74, I think. 75. But she had a work ethic that was just beyond impressive stuff. If my kids are slacking off, I say ‘your grandmother would be, you know, really disappointed.'”
“My kids hear me speak of her a lot,” she continued.
It’s important to the prime-time host that her children don’t take their blessings and privileges for granted. “I’m very, very adamant about my children not being spoiled,” she explained. “And they really are pretty grounded and down to earth. So I really appreciate that a lot.”
Ingraham has been raising her three children, a daughter and two sons, for many years as a single mother — but she’s still learning. The Fox News host explained that the job is ever-changing.
“It’s never one thing, motherhood,” she said. “The kids are — their lives are moving targets, and as a parent you just try to keep up with them as best you can and guide them with the best information that you have at the time.”
“It’s also the best and the hardest thing ever. And I love it.”
For Ingraham, when times are hard, she turns to her Roman Catholic faith for strength. “That’s the most important thing for me, my Catholic faith. So without that, I think everything would be very, very difficult for me,” she said. She also relies on support from her friends and family, specifically her brothers.
Regardless of her support system, being a single mother still comes with its share of challenges. One thing she’s realized is, “There is no such thing as a balancing act.”
“This idea of balance between work and family is fanciful,” she said.
She added that she tries to spend as much time with her children as she can, but it doesn’t come at a small cost.
“They know how hard I’m working and they know that I’m sleeping very little in order to have that time with them,” Ingraham added.
“I would never claim that I have some perfect balance between work and home,” she said. “I always think I don’t do enough for my kids or with my kids. I’m always beating myself up that I should have done this. And that’s just — I think a lot of moms do that. And it’s kind of silly because we all do the best we can.”
According to her, she has learned to be more present when she’s with her children. She said she’s gotten better at putting aside the distractions of life.
At a time when the definitions of both motherhood and womanhood are being called into question, Ingraham said it’s important for women to let go of their fears. She also urged other mothers to avoid being complacent.
“Don’t be afraid to speak out. Don’t be afraid to fight for what is true and what is right. Don’t be intimidated. Respectfully disagree. Forcefully disagree. And don’t be afraid,” she advised.
The host added: “If something’s happening in your children’s school, don’t be afraid. There’s strength in numbers.”
“When your children are concerned, I think complacency is really dangerous,” she added.
As one of the most successful women in television and also a mother, Ingraham was prompted to respond to a common argument from Democratic lawmakers: Women need abortion to advance both economically and career-wise.
Notably, Ingraham is the most-watched female host on cable television, averaging 2.04 million total viewers.
“It’s a fallacy,” she said of the argument.
“How is it freedom or advancement?” she asked of abortion.
“It’s blatantly false. And it also gives young women a muddled view of what’s most important in life,” the successful host continued.
Despite all of this, Ingraham doesn’t consider herself an example for other mothers. “I do not pretend to be a role model at all,” she said. “I don’t.”
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“I am just one person who’s trying to do her best and trying to give these three children a good life with good grounding in the values that we believe in,” she added.
“And if I have done that, when I take my last breath, three productive and kind adults, I would have been successful.”