Brooke Shields, 59 didn’t hold back with her emotions when she shared a heartfelt message on Instagram about both her daughters leaving home for college. The actor, model and founder of haircare brand Commence broke down after Rowan, 21 and Grier, 18 left home. “It’s really not easy for the moms,” Brooke admitted to her 2 million plus Instagram community.
“I really started crying and then I cried a good portion of the ride home,” she explained while sitting on her front porch. Brooke’s outpouring of grief is not uncommon amongst empty nesters, and ‘Empty Nest Syndrome’ is actually a recognized condition that many studies have found over half of parents experience when their children move out of home. I myself can relate.
My 19 year old son, Oliver, left home for the first time last year. We had moved to America from the UK two years earlier, and now he was moving again, from Florida to Virginia - a whole three states and 803 miles away (yep, I was most certainly counting!) - it felt like he was moving to another planet. But it wasn’t just Oliver’s impending (and long distance) physical departure that made my gut churn.
It was the realization that he was becoming an independent adult, and a truly wonderful one at that. And there’s the double edged sword that comes with being an empty nester. Yes, things will never be the same again when your kids leave home.
You’ll feel sad and probably cry your eyes out every time you go past their bedroom - even in .