Originally appeared on E! Online
Alicia Vikander knows motherhood is no easy feat.
"The Tomb Raider" star confirmed that she and husband Michael Fassbender welcomed their second baby together while reflecting on her pregnancy.
“All women have such different experiences, and going through it a second time was definitely harder for me,” Vikander told Elle in an interview published July 24. “But I think training made it easier. Going through those nine months is like a marathon, so it does help if you’re strong going into it.”
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“It’s so physically demanding, and I have so much admiration for any woman who has done it,” she continued. “I gave birth four times on screen before I did it myself. Your job is to pretend as an actor, but every time I had to give birth, I said to every woman on set, ‘I’m sorry.’ I felt like such an imposter.”
Vikander and Fassbender — who tied the knot in 2017 — are also parents to a 3-year-old son, whose name has not been made public. But in the past, the "Ex Machina" actress admitted she didn’t envision herself being a mom.
“I didn’t think I even wanted children, actually, until I was 30," she previously told Harper’s Bazaar, but after having her baby, she’d changed "in every way. It’s life. It’s so profound."
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One of the biggest changes? Her priorities in life.
"Becoming a parent changes you in a second when the child arrives," the 35-year-old told E! News last month. "I, for sure, now have a lot more insight and especially all the worries."
She added, "I think it also gives you extra strength because it's like it's beyond you. It's not just you or survival. You need to stay alive to make sure that you can take care of these young children."
