"Yellowjackets" star Hilary Swank is taking the high road.
Swank addressed the backlash she received in the days since she announced that she was expecting her third child at the age of 52 in a preview for an upcoming episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show."
"There’s a lot of backlash women get for having children older but not men. Which is interesting," Swank told host Drew Barrymore, as she recalled a "really interesting" anecdote that made her reflect on her decision to have children later in life.
Swank explained that she was attracted to "this particularly story" because the woman, like her, was told she was "too old" to have kids and had also, like her, lost her father when she was a young adult.
"And I related to it because my dad is also passed
but he was one of my favorite people on earth and so I, I was drawn to that and I thought to myself, 'Well, I would rather be born and have that person, that was my favorite person and experience that than not at all,'" Swank said. "So that's how I took what she said."
Swank broke the news earlier this week, with an Instagram video featuring the fluorescent outlines of her, husband Philip Schneider and their 3-year-old twins dancing in the dark. An outline of Swank's unborn child, also dancing, could be seen in the clip.
"A lot of people have been asking what project I’m doing next, this one releases in December. 😉👼🏼🫶🏼," she captioned it.
Swank and Schneider, an entrepreneur, married in 2018 after two years of dating in a romantic wedding in the redwoods of California. In 2022, the "Ordinary Angels" star revealed they were becoming parents during an appearance on "Good Morning America."
"I'm so happy to share it with you and with America right now, this is something that I've been wanting for a long time: I'm going to be a mom," she said at the time, adding, "And not just of one, but of two."
Swank welcomed twins Aya and Ohm in April 2023 and confirmed their arrival with an Instagram post of her cradling the newborns as they watched the sunset: "It wasn’t easy. But boy (and girl!) was it worth it. Happy Easter! Posting from pure Heaven."
Swank publicly confirmed the little ones' names for the first time in a 2024 Valentine's Day post. She later shared the meanings behind the monikers while on the "Today" show.
"Aya was a Syrian refugee we met in Lebanon. So she was just this courageous, brave young girl full of life going through a really difficult time. My husband and I were like, 'She's so beautiful, what a great name,'" Swank explained. "Ohm is considered the first universal sound and unites all people, and that sounds very fitting."
Contributing: Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hilary Swank responds to 'too old' remarks over pregnancy at 52
