Parenting

“I have to be as strong as I possibly can…” Anna Faris on her son’s health battle

“I was in complete shock…"
Loading the player...

When your baby is born, the last thing you’d expect to hear is that something potentially life-threatening could harm your child’s welfare.

This is what Anna Faris and now-ex-husband Chris Pratt were faced when they’re little boy, Jack, was born five years ago.

In a revealing admission from her highly anticipated book Unqualified, obtained by PEOPLE, Anna describes the moment doctors told her and Chris that their prematurely-born son, Jack, could be developmentally disabled after suffering severe bleeding on the brain.

“I was in complete shock… So Chris and I did what we could, which was hold hands and hope and face it together,” Anna, 40, writes.

While Jack was in neonatal intensive care weeks after his birth, doctors told Chris and Anna that they wouldn’t know until Jack was 18 months old to determine if he was a special needs child.

Anna said that during this time “I have to be as strong as I possibly can” and that she and Chris truly banded together.

“These moments can be hard on couples, but for us it really brought us together. It felt like it was us against the world.”

One month later, Jack was released from hospital and Anna says that now, five years on, he is a “really good kid” who’s “happy” and “likes cuddles”.

On August 7 this year, Chris Pratt released a statement on his Facebook page confirming that his marriage to Anna had come to an end.

“Anna and I are sad to announce we are legally separating. We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” the statement began.

“Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward.”

“We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another. Chris Pratt and Anna Faris,” it concluded.

The couple continue to co-parent little Jack amicably.

Related stories