Katherine Heigl looks back on her early days with her daughter Naleigh — and the fears she faced as a new mom.
In 2009, Katherine and her husband Josh Kelley adopted Naleigh from South Korea as an infant.
In the months that followed, according to Katherine, Katherine was forced to return to work on the set of Grey’s Anatomy and feared it would affect her bond with her daughter.
“Naleigh came to us when he was 9 months old and three days later I got on a plane and flew to Atlanta to work,” Katherine told The View.
She continued, “At the time I became a new mom, I was just like, ‘I get it! I can handle it.’ They told us we can have anything. We can have careers and families and it’ll be great.”
Unfortunately, Katherine felt like she “never saw” her baby girl.
“I never saw that baby. I was at work with three triplets who played my goddaughter and I spent more time with them than my new daughter,” admitted Katherine.
She continued, “She bonded with my husband, of course. He was with her. So I was always afraid that I missed this opportunity to really connect with her and that she doesn’t love me.”
Coincidentally, it was another appearance on The View nearly a decade ago that helped ease some of her parenting fears.
During the 2012 interview, when Naleigh was just a toddler, the little girl ran onto the stage to be with her mom — which helped Katherine see they shared a bond.
Watching the clip during her final performance, she burst into tears and acknowledged how meaningful it was.
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