He changed her tune! Diane Kruger loves being a mom to 4-year-old daughter Nova — but the Unknown star didn’t think she’d have children before meeting fiancé Norman Reedus.
“In my late thirties, I was starting to think about it but I wasn’t in a place in my relationship at the time – or whatever – where that was going to be a possibility and so I had kind of given up hope and I thought it was just too late. And I was OK with that,” Kruger, 46, told Tatler magazine in an article published on Wednesday, November 30. “I really liked my life the way it was.”
While the National Treasure star revealed she ‘didn’t want children for a long time,” things changed when she met Reedus, 53, in 2018 – and the pair welcomed Nova less than a year later.
“The arrival of Nova has changed my life – our lives – in the best possible way,” she gushed. “It’s just amazing that you thought you were one thing but you’re meant to do something completely different.”
Now that she is a proud parent to her little one, Kruger will do whatever it takes to protect her. As someone who felt like an “outsider” growing up, the Fringe alum told the outlet she wants to ensure her daughter will “always feel like she has a place everywhere.”
This isn’t the first time the Germany native has gotten candid about her hesitancy toward motherhood, telling PorterEdit in January 2019 that she didn’t see herself being a parent before getting pregnant with Nova.
“I was too selfish. But by the time I got to about 35, I thought, ‘Yes, I probably do want one,’” Kruger shared. “But then you have to wait for the right person to come along.” The Inglorious Bastards star noted that Reedus is a “calm” dad who “teaches me a lot because he’s done it before.” (Reedus also shares son Mingus, 23, with ex Helena Christensen.)
In April 2019, the former model expanded even further on why she didn’t see hesitated to start a family.
“For a long time, the desire for a child didn’t preoccupy me,” Kruger explained to Madame Figaro magazine. “I had my ways. I was fine without one. In short, I didn’t feel absolutely ready. Life ensured my daughter arrived at the right time. It was a surprise, and she is beautiful.”
The Troy star and Walking Dead actor met on the set of their film Sky in 2016. Kruger was dating Joshua Jackson at the time, but two years later, she split from the Dawson’s Creek alum and made her relationship with Reedus public.
Four months after making their red carpet debut at the Golden Globes in May 2018, Us Weekly confirmed that the couple were expecting their first child together. Kruger gave birth in November 2018. In August 2021, news broke that the pair were engaged and Robot Chicken alum was seen donning a diamond ring at the 2021 Met Gala.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in October, Reedus explained that his initial plans for the proposal got ruined, which lead to the at-home proposal featuring Nova.
“I felt bad that I didn’t do it and Nova, our daughter, was sitting on my lap, and I was like, ‘Can you go get my boot? It’s in the closet,’ ” he explained. “[Diane]’s like, ‘Why?’ I’m like, ‘I just want to look at the boot.’ ‘Cause I had it shoved in the boot.”
After he popped the question, the Florida native said the family of three broke into waterworks. “I proposed and she started crying, and then Nova started crying — everybody’s crying. It was like water works city,” he said.
