Why Brooke Shields Was Sobbing on TikTok Last Week

Brooke Shields took to Instagram and TikTok last week to talk about her daughters heading off to college, breaking into tears as she came to terms with their summer coming to an end. Shields, 57, and her husband, Chris Henchy, are parents to Rowan, 19, and Grier, 16. Rowan will start her sophomore year at Wake Forest University in September.

“So I just waved my daughter goodbye again and I thought it would be easier the second time,” Shields said in the clip on Aug. 18. “She’s already been away and been with me all summer, but… I’m not making the drive with her, she’s driving with her dad. It was just too painful, I don’t think I could go through the driving away from campus again.”

@brookeshieldsofficial

I’ll be crying if you need me… 😭❤️ #backtoschool #momsoftiktok #motherhood

♬ original sound – Brooke Shields

At the end of the video, Shields offered a hopeful message for other parents struggling to send their children off to college. “So if there’s anyone else going through this, we’re all together,” the A Castle for Christmas star said. She also included a photo of Rowan in her car, adding that she misses her eldest daughter already.

Many of Shields’ famous followers agreed that sending off their children to school is never easy. “Omg I will not be this strong,” Rachel Zoe wrote on Instagram. “Prayers for strength & wisdom for all of us mommies & babies in this transitional time… We can do this, my friend,” Angie Harmon wrote. “I’m sending you some pump you up love,” Wanda Sykes added.

During a stop on Live with Kelly and Ryan in November 2021, Shields called Rowan’s freshman year at college “the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” notes Us Weekly. Kelly Ripa told Shields it would get “easier” as time goes on. “You want them to be happy but you really don’t want them to be happy,” Shields joked.

Shields previously told Us Weekly in 2020 her daughters both worked summer jobs and were proud to earn a paycheck on their own. “This was their hard-earned money,” Shields explained. “And they realized how hard it was to get that check, that piece of paper. … At first, they just handed [the checks] to me and said, ‘Well, can you put this somewhere?’ And then it became, ‘OK, let’s show you how this works.’ There are baby steps.”