Jenny Mollen Isn't Apologizing After Controversial Post About Her 12-Year-Old Son

Jenny Mollen isn't apologizing after receiving widespread backlash for an Instagram post in which she likened her 12-year-old son to a "toxic boyfriend."

The actress and author, 47, sparked controversy earlier this month when she shared a now-deleted photo on social media that showed her lying on top of her son Sid on a bed, writing in the caption, "Your eldest son will be the most toxic boyfriend you ever have."

On Monday, June 8, Mollen defended her post on her The Best Friend Experience Substack, beginning her lengthy blog, "Last week, the internet called me a child molester for posting a photo of myself holding my son."

Mollen explained that the photo had been taken after Sid, whom she shares alongside 8-year-old son Lazlo with estranged husband Jason Biggs, returned from a weekend away, writing, "There's something devastating about realizing your child can survive without you, that they can be content somewhere else."

The Live Fast Die Hot author continued that what "strangers saw as scandal, I saw as grief," explaining that she was exploring the idea that "loving a child is a vomit-inducing free fall" with her Instagram joke.

"The joke that offended people was, 'Your eldest son will be the most toxic boyfriend you ever have,'" she wrote. "And he is. Parenthood has demanded a level of commitment and self-sacrifice from me that, in any other context, would be considered pathological. I'd never accept this kind of relationship under any other circumstances. And yet here I am, jumping through fire, constantly striving for affection and approval, waiting by the phone for a guy who can't even drive."

Looking at her Instagram post with Sid, Mollen said she sees "a 12-year-old boy who still wants his mother, and a woman trying to hold on to closeness and connection at a time in her life when everything else is changing," adding, "Don't let anyone shame you for holding on while you still can."

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 6:31 AM.