In an exclusive interview, the star reveals the secret she kept during the toughest months of her life: she’s become a proud new mum by J.D. Heyman and Alexis Chiu.
Sandra Bullock has been the subject of many headlines lately, but today there’s only one newsflash she cares about. “Louis rolled over—twice!” she gushes on a recent afternoon. “It’s astounding to watch a human being grow right before your eyes.”
That would be Louis Bardo Bullock, the three-and-a-half-month-old son that the star, 45, has been quietly raising since January. Amid all that has happened to Bullock in the last few months—winning an Oscar and enduring the breakup of her marriage to Jesse James—the biggest change in her life has been a happy one: She became a new mum.
It’s been the mother of all secrets. With the help of loved ones, including stepkids Sunny, 6, Jesse Jr., 12, and Chandler, 15, Bullock has been in seclusion since her split with James, 41, and is savouring new parenthood. “You wake up, you feed, you burp, you play, you do laundry,” she says. “I’m still in that stage where I’m just amazed with him and at life.”
Four years ago she and James began the adoption process. They learned in January that they had been matched with a newborn from New Orleans.
They brought Louis (whom Bullock calls “Louie”) home but decided to keep the news to themselves until after the Oscars. “I don’t know how we got away with it,” says Bullock, who won’t discuss details of the adoption to protect her son’s privacy. In March she found out James had cheated, and she left their home, taking Louis with her. Now she confirms she has filed for divorce and will adopt as a single mum.
When did you decide to adopt?
I don’t recall the big “aha” moment of when we decided. We spent so much time in New Orleans after Katrina, and one day it was just a feeling that came that instead of bringing another life into this world, that we wanted to reach out and find our child in New Orleans. There were so many children alone after Katrina, and for some reason we knew that someone would want to come into our lives.
So we began the process of adoption about four years ago, never thinking about what [the child] would look like, whether it was a girl or a boy, what background – it didn’t matter. We somehow knew the right little person would come. And out of the blue one day, Sunny proclaimed to me that we shouldn’t have another baby, that we should adopt. I froze.
I had no idea where she got this, so I asked her why, and she said, “Because there are so many little babies that have no home, and we can share our things with them.” Profound for a [then] 4-year-old, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up, so I just diverted the conversation.
For more exclusive pictures and the full in-depth interview with Sandra where she reveals why she kept the adoption a secret, how she found out about Jesse’s infidelity and what her plans are for the future, see this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale May 3, 2010.
Your say: What do you think about Sandra’s secret adoption? Are you happy for her? Share your thoughts below.
