Everything Macaulay Culkin And Brenda Song Have Said About Parenting Their 2 Kids

Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song's fairytale relationship makes us believe in true love. The future lovebirds first met on the sets of Seth Green's directorial debut, "Changeland," in June 2017. A month later, they were spotted on their first date, and in October, they even joined Green and his wife, Clare Grant, for an adorable double date. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2019, Song shared that she found bonding with child stars like Macaulay easy because of their unique shared experiences. 

The pair continued to thrive and kept their relationship private, with the exception of some adorable birthday tributes. For Macaulay's 40th birthday, Song wrote him a heartfelt Instagram message, which ended with her calling him a unicorn because before she met him, she didn't believe people like him could exist. 

When Macaulay appeared on the "Joe Rogan Podcast" in 2018, he shared that he couldn't wait to have children with his lovely partner. He added, "I have a pretty little family — a pretty girl, a pretty dog, a pretty cat, and all that stuff. We're gonna move," he said. "We're doing the house thing and all that kind of stuff," (via People). And all of Culkin's wishes came true. In April 2021, the pair welcomed their first child and named him Dakota Song Culkin to honor Macaulay's late sister. The happy couple got engaged in January 2022, and in March 2023, the "Home Alone" star's brother, Kieran Culkin, confirmed that Macaulay and Song had another child.

In December 2023, Macaulay Culkin told Entertainment Tonight that his eldest son, Dakota, had already watched "Home Alone." He shared Dakota's thoughts, "I already showed it to him last year, he thinks it's so funny," he added. "I convinced my oldest that he's the kid in the movie. I said, 'Remember you had yellow hair? Remember when you were getting the bad guys?'" Macaulay added that eventually, Dakota gave in and said he remembered everything, which led him to playfully call his son a liar. 

Later in the day, Macaulay received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, with Brenda Song and their boys watching. In his speech, the "Richie Rich" star thanked Song for giving his life a new meaning by giving him a loving family. He also called Song and their children his "three favorite people." It's sweet to see Macaulay thrive with his chosen family, because he didn't have it easy growing up. 

When he appeared on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast, Macaulay shared that his father was immensely jealous of his success and resorted to physical and mental abuse to express his disdain. He reasoned that his father's envy stemmed from his inability to make it big as an actor. The father and son have been estranged since Macaulay's emancipation at 16. Macaulay might be relatively new to fatherhood, but he seems to have already broken the cycle of overly strict parenting by getting matching mohawks with Dakota.

In an E! interview, Brenda Song shared that she never believed she could prioritize children over her career, but something shifted in her with the birth of their firstborn. She immediately knew she would always do whatever was best for Dakota. She also revealed that she went back to work on "Dollface" a mere three months after giving birth, and her mom brought Dakota over for breastfeeding through the day. 

When Song spoke to The Cut, she admitted that returning to work so soon after giving birth greatly increased her stress as a new parent. She shared that she found it difficult to stop production to pump breast milk and felt saddened by all the time apart from her newborn. The "Secret Obsession" also revealed her and now-fiancé Macaulay Culkin's approach to parenting, "My boyfriend and I are very hands-on. We don't have a nanny, but my mom has been here with us since my son was born." She also shared a pearl of wisdom for new mothers: "Make sure you have help. Because your instinct is to want to do it all and you physically can't."

Song told the outlet that she and Culkin didn't have their responsibilities set in stone and instead, played it by ear and took on whatever would make the other's life a bit easier. Like most new parents, Song functioned on minimal sleep, but even when she got a small window while Dakota napped during the day, she used it to work.