Busy Philipps talks difficult decision to send child Birdie to boarding school, praises supportive ex-husband

There are big changes coming for Busy Philipps and her family, as her eldest child, Birdie, is not only starting high school, but they are moving away from home and heading to boarding school for it.

The Girls5Eva star did not come to the decision lightly, but actually credited her ex-husband Marc Silverstein for helping her see that it was the right choice.

Busy and Marc also share youngest daughter, Cricket, who is ten. They were married for 14 years before they separated in 2021 and subsequently divorced.

Speaking with People about her partnership with Two Good Yogurt and their nonprofit partner organizations, City Harvest and We Don’t Waste, the actress opened up about the big transition, and gave candid insight into how the decision was made.

“I have to give the kids’ dad so much credit because I immediately was like, ‘Absolutely no, not happening,'” she admitted, adding: “He was like, ‘Listen, why don’t we hear this kid out? Why don’t we see it through and go look at the school, talk to them and see where it takes us?'”

She then explained: “One thing I also took into consideration is that these kids have been through a really intense few years with the pandemic and essentially being stuck in the house with their parents,” before noting: “So maybe it’s not a bad thing for Birdie to go live with some other kids and have that socialization that maybe was missed out on a bit during the pandemic.”

© Getty

Though she confessed that she is “still in the process of dealing with it myself as a mom who, of course, just wants my babies to stay close to me,” she maintained: “I feel confident, like Birdie’s such a strong individual. She’s such a smart, unique person that I feel really confident in her ability to succeed in whatever situation she’s in.”

MORE: Busy Philipps in tears over upsetting Roe v Wade decision

MORE: Busy Philipps shares heartfelt message about how child Birdie has helped her with moving on ahead of big milestone

Ultimately, she figured: “The plan is that she will be where she goes for all of high school, but I’m also open to this if it’s just a year. That would be an amazing experience for her to have either way.”

© Getty

She added: “If it turns out this is not the situation for her, and I’m not saying that will be the case, so be it,” noting: “Parenting is constantly learning, and I think one thing that I try to return to is that I’m not going to nail it every time.”

© Getty

Now that Birdie’s time to move away is getting closer and closer, the whole family is soaking up all the time they have together, and she said of her two kids: “I think that the girls are realizing that they are not going to be with each other daily.”

MORE: Busy Phillips’ embarrassing mishap with child Birdie is too good to miss: ‘I had this whole dilemma’

© Getty

With that, she recalled: “There’s a real sweetness that they’ve had with one another, playing this weird little stacking game that was popular on TikTok. We were all crammed in Birdie’s bedroom and their dad was there too, and we were just laughing.”

She continued: “They were kind of making fun of me because I kept crying but it was fun. We were laughing, too. It was just such a sweet moment.”

Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S.  Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.