Anne Hathaway explains why she regrets posting a photo of her son on Instagram

'Even though I felt as though I had done it in as protective a way as I could, even though it was a moment I was incredibly proud of, I don’t know that I’ll ever do it again'

Anne Hathaway (Getty)

Anne Hathaway says she regrets sharing a picture of her son on social media as in doing so she invited people into her personal life.

The actress, 34, gave birth to her first son Jonathan last year and a few weeks ago shared the first photo of him on Instagram.

In the picture, Jonathan’s back is turned to the camera as he is watching Hathaway’s speech at the United Nations on gender equality to mark International Women’s Day.

Accompanying the photo were hashtags like #forourboys #forthefuture and #loveislove. Despite the symbolism of the picture, Hathaway – who is notoriously private – says she now regrets posting it.

“I had never posted a photo of my son and I decided to post a shot of the back of his head, and almost as soon as I’d done it, I wished that I hadn’t,” she told Jezebel. “I felt like I had broken a seal in inviting people into my life.

“And even though I felt as though I had done it in as protective a way as I could, even though it was a moment I was incredibly proud of, I don’t know that I’ll ever do it again. I’m a big believer that you gotta mess things up sometimes to really see them properly, so if I made a mistake or I messed up, I know how I feel about it much better now.”

Despite being particularly private, Hathaway has at times used social media to shape her own narrative and control her privacy. Last year, she confirmed her pregnancy for the first time, two months before she gave birth, by sharing a picture of herself in a bikini on Instagram after noticing she was being photographed.

“So, posting a bikini pic is a little out of character for me, but just now while I was at the beach I noticed I was being photographed. I figure if this kind of photo is going to be out in the world it should at least be an image that makes me happy (and be one that was taken with my consent),” she wrote.