Skims co-founder and longtime Kardashian confidante Emma Grede sparked an uproar recently when she confessed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that she spends a maximum of three hours with her children on the weekends—an admission that saw her face outcry from critics.
Grede, 43, who is the co-founder of Kim Kardashian‘s $5 billion fashion brand, Skims, as well as Khloe Kardashian‘s denim label, Good American, made the comments in an article titled “The Kardashian Whisperer Who Says Three Hours With Her Kids Is Enough.”
She described herself to the outlet as a “max three-hour mom.”
Addressing her life at home with her husband, fashion brand founder Jens Grede, and their four kids, Emma Grede admitted that she doesn’t engage in many stereotypical parenting activities like “cutting sandwiches into star shapes” or reading every email that is sent by her kids’ school.
During an appearance on the “Today” show, Grede—who is originally from London—addressed the backlash, admitting that she never anticipated her remarks would generate such a fierce debate.
“Well, you know, I just think that headline would never be written about a man. But, no. Was I caught off guard? Absolutely not, because I think that’s what happens to women,” she said.
“We are held to such an impossible standard both as parents, but also as businesswomen, and what I’m trying to do is be really honest about what it takes and be really honest about the things that I don’t do.
“Everybody says, ‘How do you do it all? How do you wake up at 5 and run the companies?’ And, I’m like, let’s give a list of all the things that I don’t do because you know what’s helpful? That’s what’s helpful to women,” she added.
The businesswoman, who shares children Grey, 11, Lola, 9, and twins Lake and Rafferty, 3, with her husband, then explained what message she was trying to “convey” with her comments, noting that she was simply attempting to prove how hard every parent finds it to balance all of their obligations, while also finding some time for themselves.
“The honest truth is, and what I was trying to convey, when you go to work every day, Monday through Friday, you are spent by the time it gets to the weekend, and anyone who has children, you know that you don’t spend eight hours [with them] on a Saturday and Sunday,” she said. “You have errands to run, things to do.”
Grede arguably has more responsibilities than most when it comes to her career, in which she straddles three different Kardashian-connected companies, a role with a separate fashion brand, and a podcast. She has also recently written a book, “Start With Yourself,” which…
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