Clear your schedules and grab a cup of coffee because our favorite time-traveling heroine is pulling back the curtain on her most important (and cutest) role yet! Outlander icon Caitríona Balfe, 46, is making major headlines after dropping a rare, delightfully candid interview with Travel + Leisure. As she gears up for the massive October 16 release of her upcoming film Sense and Sensibility, the fiercely private actress is opening up like never before about how stepping into motherhood alongside her husband, music producer Tony McGill, completely flipped her world upside down. From navigating the chaotic art of family travel with their 5-year-old son to spilling the ultimate parenting hacks that every mom and dad needs in their arsenal, Balfe is proving she is just as wonderfully relatable off-screen as she is fierce on it. Let’s dive deep into the adorable details of her parenting journey!

From Romantic Getaways to Suite Life Realities: How Motherhood Changed Everything

If you thought celebrity travel was all about spontaneous first-class luxury without a care in the world, think again! Balfe candidly confessed that welcoming her little boy in August 2021 instantly rewrote her travel rulebook. Gone are the days of booking trendy, open-plan hotel suites where a sleeping child means parents have to sit whispering in total darkness.

“Once you have children, your priorities change,” Balfe shared with a laugh, opening up about her new non-negotiable hotel requirements. “I’m always trying to find somewhere that has a separate bedroom and living room, so we can put him to bed and not be stuck sitting in the dark. Open-plan suites just don’t work.” Talk about a universal parent struggle that hits way too close to home!

Surviving Long-Haul Flights Without Screens: The 5-Year-Old Traveling Pro

Let’s be honest: taking a 5-year-old child on a cramped airplane is usually enough to send any parent straight into a state of panic. But according to Balfe, her son is an absolute superstar flyer—and she has proudly managed to dodge the tablet trap for the most part!

“My son is a really good traveler,” Balfe revealed, looking back on their hectic travel days. “When he was very young, we had to go to Los Angeles a lot, and he’s fantastic on a plane. I’ve managed to avoid the iPads up to this point, and he’s really good at reading and playing games.”

Of course, even Hollywood stars aren’t immune to the universal temptation of digital babysitters on grueling, marathon journeys. Balfe humorously admitted with a wink, “Though he did mainline TV on one of our last long-haul flights.” Hey, no judgment here—sometimes a kid just needs some cartoon marathon therapy to survive the skies!

Looking Back at the Magical Announcement and Deep-Rooted Philanthropy

Fans will fondly remember when Balfe caught the entire internet completely off guard in August 2021 by announcing that she and her husband Tony McGill—who tied the knot in a gorgeous, intimate ceremony at St. Mary’s Church in Bruton, Somerset, U.K., back in August 2019 after she famously debuted her dazzling engagement ring at the 2018 Golden Globes—had welcomed their first baby. Taking a much-needed break from social media at the time, she shared a heartwarming, tender black-and-white photo of her newborn son’s tiny hand, explaining she had stepped away “to enjoy cooking up this little human.”

At the time, the emotional star wrote: “We are so grateful for this little soul … that he chose us as his parents. I’m in awe of him already and can’t help stare and wonder at all the possibilities of who he will become, where he will go and what he’ll do on the big adventure of his life.”

True to her compassionate character, Balfe used her monumental baby announcement not just to celebrate, but to shine a glaring spotlight on global children in need. She passionately advocated for incredible organizations like World Child Cancer, Choose Love, UNICEF, and the UN Refugee Agency.

Reflecting on her immense gratitude, she wrote back then: “Right now he seems so small and fragile and I constantly think how grateful I am that I live in a place, in a time where he is born into peace and safety and yet at the same time I see so many in the world right now that aren’t afforded that same privilege and opportunity … who are born into famine or war and how unjust it is that the same safety isn’t there for all children. Here in the west we have so much, we are so lucky and so if you’d like to join me in supporting any of the wonderful charities that need help trying to give those that are forgotten dignity and hope, we can give the gift of peace and safety and opportunity to a few more children.”

From stealing our hearts on the Outlander set to dominating the silver screen and mastering the beautiful, chaotic art of motherhood, Caitríona Balfe continues to prove she is an absolute queen both on and off camera. With her new movie just around the corner and her adorable family adventures keeping her grounded, we are cheering her on every single step of the way!

Source: Compiled from various sources