Sutton Foster learned to 'mother herself' after becoming a parent

Sutton Foster has learned to "mother herself" since becoming a parent.

During an interview for the Dinner's on Me podcast on Tuesday, the Younger actress opened up about the complex relationship she had with her mother Helen, who died in 2013.

Sutton recalled how her mum suffered from agoraphobia, or a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult, but still urged her daughter to pursue her passions.

"My mom really did instil the importance of independence. You know, she raised me to be an independent, career-driven person. And I think I've just latched onto that for so many years, and it's served me very well," she told host Jesse Tyler Ferguson. "I'm grateful for my mother in so many ways because she really taught me independence, drive, ambition. But she wasn't there. And I really see it now as a parent. So I go, 'Oh, wow.' And, essentially, I've had to become my own parent."

Sutton and her estranged husband, screenwriter Ted Griffin, became parents when they adopted daughter Emily in 2017.

The Broadway star filed for divorce last October and has since been in a relationship with her The Music Man co-star, Hugh Jackman.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Sutton explained that she often repeats mantras to herself as a way of practising self-love.

"Even more true now as I'm a mother. I'm mothering myself at the same time. Because every night when I put my daughter to bed, I say, 'I love you. I'm so proud of you.' And so now I say that to myself," the 50-year-old continued. "Can you dare to love yourself as much as you love your children? And I was like, 'What?' Like, the concept of it was new to me. And so I look at myself in the eyes, and I'm like, 'Alright. Can I love myself more than anything?' Because, essentially, that's what we all want. Right? We wanna be loved. And finding that so that no matter what, I am so proud. I'm so proud of myself."