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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Dominique Hines

Madonna: ‘Growing up with a mother like me is a challenge’

Madonna, pictured here with her six children, has admitted to struggling with being a mother

(Picture: Madonna/Instagram)

Madonna has admitted to “struggling" with motherhood.

The star, 64, is mother to Lourdes, 26, with ex-boyfriend, Carlos Leon, son Rocco, 22, with ex-husband Guy Ritchie, and David, 17, Mercy, 16, and twins Estere and Stella, 10, who she adopted from Malawi.

In a candid chat, the Material Girl singer candidly confessed that it must be a “challenge" for her children to have “a mother like me”.

“It has been the most difficult, the hardest battle," she said in an interview for Vanity Fair magazine’s Icon Issue in which she is the cover star.

“Growing up with a mother like me is a challenge... Today, I am still struggling to understand how to be a mother and do my job."

The pop legend speaks about being a mother in the new ‘Icon’ issue of Vanity Fair (Luigi & Iango/ Vanity Fair)

The music legend also said she finds it “exhausting” balancing her career with parenting.

She continued: “Whoever you are, having children and raising them is a work of art and no one gives you a manual. You have to learn from mistakes.

“It is a profession that requires a lot of time and it is exhausting because there is never rest.”

However, the pop superstar said she is proud of her children for paving their own paths through the arts.

The star has admitted she finds it ‘exhausting’ to balance her career and parenting (Getty Images)

She explained: “I have never encouraged my daughter Lola to make music or my son Rocco to paint, but I’ve always exposed them to art, to music, and I’m happy that they’ve found ways to express themselves.

“I have respect and admiration for them and for what they do.”

The star’s candid interview follows her announcement on Tuesday that  she will be embarking on her first-ever greatest hits tour.

She announced the tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her breakout album Madonna, including a show at London’s O2 Arena.

Often hailed as the “queen of pop”, Madonna released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and will begin her 35-date Celebration Tour in July 2023.

She will perform music from her entire career, from 1983’s self-titled debut album to 2019’s Madame X.

Writing on Instagram – after previously deleting all her prior posts to make way for the news – Madonna simply said: “Come join the party!”

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