Emily Ratajkowski Shares Raw Feelings About Dating as a Single Mom: ‘I Just Want to Set the Record Straight’

Dating as a Single Mom

“The recent thing that’s been killing me is that I somehow want people to know what’s going on in my personal life,” she told Glamour UK angrily. “I just want to set the record straight. In a custody battle, if you are a single mother who’s dating, then it is not a good look. The most important thing for my child is him being safe and us being together. I would never risk that.”

“So, I don’t know how that’s coming to mind that it would somehow be appealing for me – separately from how it even just makes me feel,” the High Low With EmRata podcast host continued. “Just pragmatically, if you know anything about the court system, you know anything about divorce, there is a decent amount of sexism embroiled in that and embedded in that system. And the most important thing for me is my child.”

“So let’s just put that idea to rest. It’s hard on the relationships and it’s hard for me personally,” she said, adding that she’s “sort of accepted that there’s only so much I can do to keep my private life private. And I want to enjoy my life, and if that means that everyone has an opinion on what I’m doing, then so be it.”

That’s a powerful statement, and it makes our hearts break for her. She is just trying to get through a divorce and co-parenting situation while dating (which should be perfectly fine!), but people’s opinions and their invasive photos could potentially affect Ratajkowski’s custody of her son. If that isn’t reason enough to leave moms alone, then I don’t know what is!

Custody Battle

This isn’t the first time she’s referenced acting a certain way amid the custody battle with her ex. She told the Los Angeles Times in April 2023 that the year before was one of the “most traumatic experiences of [her] entire life.”

As a recap, in March, sexual misconduct and grooming allegations against Bear-McClard were made public, some of which happened while he was married to Ratajkowski. This came just a few months after Ratajkowski filed for divorce in September 2022.

“I’m scared,” she told the outlet when explaining why she didn’t want to talk about her “horrifying” year. “I’m learning that outspoken women don’t often get their children.”

People Criticizing Moms

In her interview with Glamour UK, Ratajkowski shared what people think of her as a mom. “It’s the classic thing that once a woman becomes a mother, that should be her identity solely, if she’s a good mother,” she said. (We are rolling our eyes at all those judgy people because we’ve seen this time and time again!) “I’m an example of that. So, I feel like there’s this sort of confusion: if it’s not just blatant sexism of [on the one hand] ‘She shouldn’t be doing that, she’s a mother,’ which is obvious. There’s almost [on the other hand] this, ‘I can’t believe she’s a mom!’ which is also equally not great.”

“And I experience that in real life sometimes, even where people are like, ‘That’s your son?’ It’s obviously really flattering. I’m like, ‘Oh, yes, I’m a child myself,’” she continued. “Or if somebody doesn’t know that I have a child and then I talk about it [they’ll say], ‘Oh, what are you doing here?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s eight o’clock, so he went to bed an hour ago and I have a sitter.’ There’s always going to be something, right? It’s like being a mom is just an example of what I’ve experienced a million times in my life.”

But she’s handling it like the strong, fierce mom that she is!