Sarah Jessica Parker shares how her children avoid ‘antagonistic’ relationship with food

‘When I had girls, I didn’t want them to have a relationship with food that was antagonistic and to see it as an enemy,’ Parker says

Sarah Jessica Parker has opened up about one key difference between her own childhood and the way she raises her children.

On Monday 1 April, the Sex and the City alum spoke on Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast to discuss how she was trying to create a healthy relationship with food for her two twin daughters, 13-year-old Tabitha and Marion.

“When I had girls, I didn’t want them to have a relationship with food that was antagonistic and to see it as an enemy,” she told the podcast host. Parker explained that she wasn’t allowed most sweets at home when she was growing up, adding that the list of foods she couldn’t eat included “sugar … or chocolate or cookies”.

Having those kinds of restrictions on food when she was growing up led to both her and her siblings buying “a load of cakes and cookies” after moving out of her parents’ home.

“I didn’t want that for them,” Parker said. “In our house, we have cookies, we have cake, we have everything. And as a result, you have a better relationship.”

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“My daughters will have the figures they have, and hopefully they’ll be healthy,” she continued. “They’re athletes and they enjoy food and have different palates. I hope that they can maintain their affection for the experience and their delight in taste.”

At another point during the episode, the And Just Like That star touched on what her home life looks like alongside her husband, Matthew Broderick.

“Matthew cooks. We both cook every single day,” Parker said. “We eat dinner as a family every night. And always have dinner every Sunday night. It’s just what we do.”

The couple has been married since 1997. They welcomed their son James Wilkie in 2002 and then their twin daughters via surrogate in 2009.

In January, the famous tutu once worn by Parker - aka Carrie Bradshaw - in Sex and the City was auctioned off for a staggering amount. However, the now-iconic tulle skirt wasn’t always worth thousands of dollars.

The oyster white, three-tier skirt with satin waistband was auctioned off by Julien’s Auctions with an estimated price between $8,000 and $12,000. Bidding began on 11 January, with a starting bid of $2,000, as part of Julien’s “Unstoppable: Signature Styles of Iconic Women In Fashion” collection. But when the auction finally closed on 18 January, one lucky bidder purchased the iconic tutu for $52,000.

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For fans of the beloved HBO series, which ran from 1997 to 2004, viewers will recognise the tutu from the opening credits, in which sex columnist Carrie galivants through a busy New York City street. Pairing the tiered skirt with a basic pink tank top, Carrie famously gets splattered by water from a yellow taxi.

As legend goes, Sex and the City lead costume designer Patricia Field found the skirt while sifting through a five-dollar bin in Manhattan’s garment district. Series creator Darren Starr initially wanted Parker to wear a blue sheath dress from Marc Jacobs’ spring 1998 runway collection in the opening credits, but Field wanted the actor to wear an item that wasn’t specific to any time.

Her decision to dress Parker in the white tutu was so pivotal for Field that she recounted it in her 2023 memoir, Pat in the City. “I imagined pairing the short, tiered tulle skirt with a small tee or tank for a look that was both contemporary and cool,” she wrote. “I also thought Sarah Jessica would be able to relate to this crazy skirt because of her background as a ballet dancer. Just as important, though, the tutu-style skirt was whimsical, adventurous, and unexpected.”