January Jones: Mad Men star and single mother says she doesn't need a partner

'It’s good to have strong women around a man. To teach him to respect women,' Jones says of raising her son

January Jones (Getty)

January Jones has spoken about being a single mother, saying she does not need a partner to help raise her son.

The Mad Men actress gave birth to her son Xander five years ago. She has never revealed the identity of her son’s father and is not in a relationship with him.

Jones says while Xander is close to his grandfather and her male neighbours, he is mainly surrounded by “strong women” such as her relatives and close friends.

“Maybe I should get a manny [male nanny] soon,” the 39 year old told Red magazine. “But Xander has a lot of bro time with the neighbours dads and my dad who is super young.

“It’s good to have strong women around a man. To teach him to respect women. He doesn’t have a male person in his life saying ‘don’t cry’ or ‘you throw like a girl’. All those s***ty things dads accidentally do.”

Jones, who says she only wanted women around her when she was giving birth, added that she is not looking for a partner.

“Something else would suffer if a relationship came along,” she says. “Yes, I’m willing to make that sacrifice for the right relationship – I just don’t feel I need a partner. Do I want one? Maybe. But I don’t feel unhappy or lonely. It would have to be someone so amazing that I would want to make room. Someone who would contribute to my happiness and not take away from it. I realise I have very high expectations and will probably have to compromise but my life is so full. It’s not like, ‘Aww, I wish I had a man.’ After I had Xander, I went on a couple of dates and I was like, ‘I’d rather be at home sleeping or watching TV or hanging out with my kid.’”

Nevertheless, Jones did reflect on the struggles that can come with being a single mother, explaining the difficulties in having to be both good and bad cop.

“I don’t want to be bad cop. But to have his respect, I have to be both. I mean, I’m an emotionally immature person. I’m an actor for God’s sake. I see myself behaving like a child all the time.”