My mother-in-lawm. Each time she stepped out, I heard strange voices outside. When I finally saw what it was, I couldn’t move.
When I told Josh I wanted a home birth, his face lit up like a child on Christmas morning. But his mother, Elizabeth, was even more excited. You would have thought we had just given her the keys to a shiny new car.
Oh, Nancy! This is such great news!” Elizabeth exclaimed, putting her hands together. “I have to be there to support you both. I can help with anything you need!”
I looked at Josh, raising my eyebrows. His shrug told me he was leaving the decision up to me.
I don’t know, Elizabeth,” I replied, sounding unsure. “It’s going to be really intense.”
She waved my worries away. “Nonsense! I’ve been through this myself. I know exactly what you’ll need.”
I bit my lip, thinking it over. Maybe having an extra pair of hands wouldn’t be so bad, right? It would also mean a lot to Josh if I invited his mother to help with our home birth.
“Okay,” I finally agreed. “You can be there.”
Elizabeth squealed with delight, her excitement so loud it could have scared the neighborhood dogs.
The big day finally came. Our midwife, Rosie, was setting up her things when Elizabeth rushed in, her arms full of bags.
“You won’t regret this, Nancy,” she said, hugging me tightly. “I promise to be the best support you could ask for.”
“I’m here!” she announced, as if we could have missed her entrance. “What do you need me to do?”
I was about to respond when a contraction hit, taking my breath away. Josh was instantly by my side, his hand on my lower back as I tensed and groaned.
“Just… put your things down for now,” I managed to say.
As the contraction passed, I noticed Elizabeth fidgeting, her eyes darting around the room. She seemed more nervous than excited, and I felt that something was off.
“Are you okay?” I asked, frowning.
She turned, startled. “What? Oh, yes! Just thinking about how I can help. You’re doing great, honey. Just keep pushing.”
Before I could ask her anything else, she rushed out the door, mumbling something about getting me some water.
Josh squeezed my hand. “Want me to talk to her?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. She’s probably just nervous. It’s our first baby, right?”
As my labor went on, Elizabeth’s behavior became stranger. She would pop in, ask how I was doing, then leave again. Each time she returned, she seemed more flustered.
During a strong contraction, I held Josh’s hand so tightly I thought I might break it. As the pain faded, I heard a weird sound.
“Josh,” I panted, “do you hear that?”
He tilted his head to listen. “Sounds like… voices?”
I nodded, relieved I wasn’t imagining it. “And is that music?”
Josh frowned, kissed my forehead, and said, “I’ll check it out. I’ll be right back.”
As he left, Rosie smiled at me. “You’re doing great, Nancy. Not long now.”
When Josh came back, he looked pale, like he had seen a ghost.
“What is it?” I asked, dreading his answer.
He ran his hand through his hair, looking upset. “You’re not going to believe this. My mother is throwing a party. In our living room.”
I stared at him, thinking I must have misheard. “A what?”
“A party,” he repeated, frustration in his voice. “There are at least a dozen people out there.”
The pain of labor was nothing compared to the anger that flooded me. I struggled to get up, ignoring my midwife’s protests.
“Nancy, you shouldn’t—”
“I need to see this for myself,” I growled.
Josh helped me as we made our way to the living room. The scene was surreal. People were chatting and drinking, as if it were a casual Sunday barbecue.
A banner hung on the wall that read: “WELCOME BABY!”
Elizabeth was in the middle of it all, chatting with a group of women I didn’t recognize. She didn’t even notice us.
“What the heck is going on here?” I shouted, my voice slicing through the chatter.
The room went silent, all eyes on us. Elizabeth turned around, her face going pale when she saw me.
“Nancy! Oh my God! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to—”
“Elizabeth, what is happening here?”
“Oh, I… we were just…”
“Just what? Turning my home birth into a show?”
Elizabeth looked offended. “Now, Nancy, don’t be dramatic. We’re just celebrating!”
“Celebrating? I’m in labor, Elizabeth! This isn’t a party!”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, you wouldn’t even know we were here! I thought you’d like the support.”
I felt another contraction coming on and gritted my teeth against the pain and anger. “Support? This is a circus!”
Josh stepped forward, his voice low and serious. “Everyone needs to leave. Now.”
People scrambled to grab their things, and Elizabeth tried one last time. “Nancy, you’re overreacting. This is a happy time!”
I turned to her, my words sharp. “This is my home birth. My moment. If you can’t respect that, you can leave too.”
Without waiting for a response, I waddled back to the bedroom to finish what I started, leaving Josh to handle the chaos.
Hours later, as I held my newborn son, the earlier drama felt like a distant nightmare. Josh sat beside me, eyes full of wonder as he stroked our baby’s cheek.
“He’s perfect!” he whispered.
I nodded, too overwhelmed for words. We enjoyed the quiet until a soft knock at the door broke the peace.
Elizabeth peeked in, her eyes red. “Can I… can I come in?”
My jaw tightened. “No!”
Her face fell. “Please, Nancy. I’m so sorry. I just want to see the baby.”
I looked at Josh, feeling torn. He squeezed my hand gently, his eyes understanding but pleading.
“Fine. Five minutes.”
Elizabeth walked in slowly, as if worried I might change my mind. Her face looked pale and drawn as she came closer to the bed.
“Nancy, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I got so excited and carried away.”
I didn’t respond, just stared at her. Josh cleared his throat. “Do you want to see your grandson, Mom?”
Elizabeth nodded, tears falling as Josh carefully handed our son to her. As she held him, her whole demeanor changed. The party-planner was gone, replaced by a gentle, awed grandmother.
After a few minutes, I spoke up. “It’s time for him to feed.”
Elizabeth nodded and reluctantly gave the baby back to me. She lingered at the door. “Thank you for letting me see him,” she said softly before leaving.
As the door closed, Josh turned to me. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “No. What she did… I can’t just forgive and forget, Josh.”
He nodded and pulled me close. “I understand. We’ll work it out together.”
In the weeks that followed, I struggled with how to move on. Part of me wanted to keep Elizabeth away from our son’s first celebration as revenge for her party crash.
I was still angry and hurt, which made it hard to think about including her.
But as I watched her care for our baby during her visits, always respectful of our space and routines, I realized there was a better way.
When it was time to plan the baby’s first party, I picked up the phone and called her.
“Elizabeth? It’s Nancy. I was hoping you could help with the preparations for the baby’s party next weekend.”
There was a long silence on the line. Finally, she spoke. “You want my help? After what I did?”
“Yes. Because this is what family does. We forgive, learn, and move forward together.”
I could hear tears in her voice as she replied, “Oh, Nancy. Thank you. I promise I won’t let you down.”
True to her word, Elizabeth was calm and helpful during the party. She worked quietly in the background, glowing with pride as we introduced our son to family and friends.
As the last guest left, she came up to me, her eyes shining. “Thank you for letting me be part of this, Nancy. I see now that this is how we celebrate: with love and respect.”
I smiled, feeling the barriers between us break down. “That’s right, Elizabeth. Welcome to the family!”
Macaulay Culkin removed his parents from his foundation at age 15: his father disowned him years later
Even though Macaulay Culkin rose to fame as a child, his career took a turn for the worse when his parents divorced and started arguing about who would be in charge of Macaulay Culkin’s wealth and profession.
Macaulay Culkin let a lawyer handle the matter and took his parents’ names out of his foundation trust. His father declared years later that Macaulay Culkin was no longer his son.
On August 26, 1980, Macaulay Carson Culkin was born in New York. He is the son of Patricia Brentrup and former Broadway performer Christopher Cornelius “Kit” Culkin. But his parents have never tied the knot.
The third of seven children is Macaulay. Along with his sister Quinn, he has two brothers who are also actors: Kieran and Rory. At the tender age of four, Macaulay made his stage debut in the musical performance of “Bach Babies.”
As a young age, he started pursuing the performing arts. He trained at Balanchine’s American Ballet School and had several television commercial appearances.
In 1988, he made his screen debut in the drama “Rocket Gibraltar.” The next year, he made appearances in “See You in the Morning” and “Uncle Buck.”
His breakthrough performance was as Kevin McCallister in the comedy “Home Alone” in 1990. Due to the film’s widespread success, Macaulay overnight rose to prominence.
He received nominations for a Golden Globe, an American Comedy Award, and a Young Artist Award for his performance. He returned to the role in the global hit “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” in 1992.
He starred in multiple popular movies, including “My Girl” (1991), “The Good Son” (1993), and a motion picture adaptation of “The Nutcracker” (1993).
He starred in “Getting Even with Dad,” “The Pagemaster,” and “Richie Rich” the following year. He wanted to lead a regular life after becoming weary of acting after the last movie.
His parents divorced in 1995, sparking a protracted custody dispute that lasted for two years. At this time, Macaulay—who was now the highest-paid child star—made the decision to hold off on accepting any additional jobs until after his parents’ custody battle was resolved.
After being together for more than 20 years, Macaulay’s parents, Kit and Brentrup, separated in 1995 when he was just 14 years old.
His managers were also the actor’s parents. They began bickering after their split over how to raise their kids and handle Macaulay’s rising profession.
Kit and Brentrup received a 15% commission on Macaulay’s profits while overseeing him. Macaulay’s profits were expected to be $50 million by 1990.
Because Kit was allegedly abusive, unfaithful, and had abandoned Macaulay and his siblings, Brentrup petitioned for temporary custody of Macaulay and his siblings in June 1995.
She was worried that Kit’s actions might turn off prospective workers who wished to resume working with their kids. But Kit wanted co-management and joint custody with Brentrup, while Brentrup asked for sole custody.
Kit was accused by the producers of blackmail, extortion, and harassment. He had such a terrible reputation that people referred to him as the “Stage Father from Hell.”
In “The Good Son,” Kit had threatened to cut Macaulay from the follow-up film “Home Alone” unless he was given a significant role. Producers and filmmakers reconsidered hiring Macaulay and his siblings after learning about the controversy involving his father.
Macaulay disclosed that he and his siblings declined to accompany their father throughout the custody dispute. He believed his father to be a pitiful individual.
Macaulay, watching his parents battle in court, acted impartially and decided to take Kit and Brentrup out of his trust fund. He said:
“I found an executor, someone who would handle my finances, and I legally removed my parents’ names from my trust fund.”
He feels that this decision pushed their custody battle to a much quicker conclusion, even though the press has misconstrued it. Take note that in the end, custody went to Brentrup.
Following the protracted struggle, Macaulay’s father—who passed away in January 2014 while preparing dinner—had nothing nice to say about him. He declared:
“I no longer consider him to be a son.”
Following their split, Kit made the decision to relocate to the west with his girlfriend Jeanette Krylowski. In addition, he accepted that he would never see his kids again.
Macaulay’s fatherhood began on April 5, 2021. Dakota Song Culkin is the son he and his fiancée Brenda Song welcomed into their family in Los Angeles.
Dakota, Macaulay’s sister, passed away in an automobile accident on December 9, 2008, at the age of 29. Their son bears her name. On the “Changeland” set in Thailand, Macaulay and Song first got together.
Macaulay announced that he and the former Disney Channel actress were prepared to start a family a year after they first started dating. In 1998, he wed actress Rachel Miner before he began dating Song. In 2002, following two years of separation, they got divorced.
We’ve seen more of Macaulay’s return to the spotlight in recent years. He declared on Twitter in October 2021 that he will not be part of the Disney+ revival of “Home Alone.”
Macaulay wore a colorful costume when she walked the Gucci Love Parade runway in November 2021 on Hollywood Boulevard.
He was dressed in vibrant floral bomber jacket over Hawaiian shirt and wide-leg camel beige slacks. Macaulay flashed his cream-colored Gucci double G leather belt, hands tucked into his pockets.
He accessorized his retro vacation ensemble with caramel-colored, 1970s-style sunglasses and clogs.
Although it’s common for fans to see their idols walk the catwalk, Macaulay surprised them by sharing the podium with Jodie Turner-Smith and Jared Leto.
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