He has been very open about how fatherhood is the greatest thing that has ever happened to him.
Parenting is no easy business. It's important to be truly present in the lives of our children to build a good bond with them. However, it's not the easiest thing to do when you're a Hollywood A-lister. Your busy life might get in the way and many parents also try to cut back on work for that reason. Of course, that's not possible for everyone. In that regard, the pandemic helped many people get closer to their families. One of those people is late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon, 46, is a dad of two girls, and staying home for long bouts of time has evolved his family life, just like many other people. In March 2020, he had to move the filming of the show into his family home with his wife, Nancy Juvonen, as his producer. They used cell phones to shoot and he engaged his daughters, Winnie, 7, and Franny, 6, to make signs for the show. They also sat in on bits, as per People.
"Months later we've been getting letters and emails from people, saying, 'Thank you so much for being there' and 'You have no idea, that was our family thing,'" he says. "To know we were an escape for people is pretty cool."
Eventually, he returned to NBC's iconic 30 Rock studio in July 2020. However, he was still a parent and worried that his kids would have to go back to school. Now, his daughters are on pod learning. "Last spring, when they were on Zoom school, you can see they get distracted. You look away and a couple of minutes later they're playing with dolls," Fallon says.
Like a real dad, the silver lining he found during the pandemic is the time he got to spend with his daughters. "I really bonded with my daughters during that time because I was never normally home that long," he says. "Usually I'm at work, so I got to really wake up and go to bed with them every single night for months. I think there was a real bond there that we'll never forget," he added.
The talk show host has previously talked about the ways in which fatherhood has changed him. "My biggest revelation is how much I ended up caring for other people's kids if that makes any sense. You get it more,” Fallon told Fatherly. "When I didn’t have kids, if I heard a crying baby in the restaurant, I would think, ‘Can you stop the crying and go around the block?’ Now I would be like, ‘Just give me the baby — how can I help? I’ve been there.'"
He says it had made him more "sensitive." "I was always kind of emotional — I think it’s my Irish-Catholic upbringing. Now — Hallmark is for me now. I’m ready for a good cry." Of course, tears don't make a man weak, it's actually great that he knows how to show vulnerability.
He's so in tune with his persona as a father that he also wrote a book for children. However, he added that his kids no longer find him that funny. He added that his eldest finds his jokes cringeworthy. Most dads can relate to this.
Fallon has no qualms saying that becoming a dad is the "greatest thing that has ever happened to" him. "You realize what’s important in life. Every single day you realize there’s a new cute thing they’re doing or saying," he told People in 2017. "They fill up my phone memory with photos. I’m just taking these pictures that no one else wants to see,” he adds. "No other stranger cares that your kid ate an artichoke, but you think it’s the best story ever. No it’s not. It’s boring," he added. Other parents would relate to this perfectly.
It is no wonder that he can't discipline his kids. "Dads immediately fall in love with their little girls, and will let them get away with everything. So moms are going to have to be the disciplinarians when it comes to daughters," he told People.
References:
https://people.com/tv/jimmy-fallon-reflects-on-how-life-has-changed-a-year-into-pandemic/
https://www.fatherly.com/play/jimmy-fallon-interview-covid-19-kids-books/
https://people.com/parents/jimmy-fallon-fatherhood-greatest-thing-daughters-new-book/
https://people.com/parents/jimmy-fallon-fatherhood-daughters-advice/
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer
