Katherine Schwarzenegger Says Having A Step-Parent Coach Has Been ‘Essential’ For Her Family Life

Katherine Schwarzenegger is opening up about her journey to becoming a step-parent ― and how a step-parent coach has helped her along the way. 

The 35-year-old, who has three children with her husband, actor Chris Pratt, is also a step-parent to Pratt’s son, Jack.

Pratt shares 12-year-old Jack with his ex-wife, Anna Faris.

Schwarzenegger said during a joint podcast appearance with Pratt that she would recommend a step-parenting coach or therapist to anyone with a blended family, as she retained one “right when we got engaged” and found it “essential.”

“It’s been incredibly helpful for me and also just understanding my role as a step-parent,” the author said during an appearance on the “Parenting & You with Dr. Shefali” podcast, released on Tuesday. 

“Step-parenting ― like parenting ― has no, you know, handbook,” she said.

“Because also I have the benefit of being in both roles, step-parenting is extra confusing because you aren’t a parent, you’re not a nanny, you’re not an assistant,” Schwarzenegger added. “You have responsibilities in all of those areas, but you’re not either of them. It’s a confusing thing to try to navigate where you fit in.” 

While she shared that “every dynamic is obviously very different” within each family, she said that she, Pratt, Faris and Faris’ partner ― cinematographer Michael Barrett― all co-parent “very well” together. 

“It works when everybody is willing to put in the work,” Schwarzenegger said. 

Pratt added that being in the position of a step-parent is “a tough job” and you don’t always “end up getting the credit you deserve.” 

“If a parent is in there doing the hard work ― in the paint ― of creating structure for a child and holding children accountable, and it’s not a biological child, it can feel thankless. But it’s a really, really important job.”

Gwyneth Paltrow ― who now has a blended family thanks to her second marriage to Brad Falchuck ― has also opened up about the harsh realities of being a step-parent. 

“You know, there’s no book on this ― nobody tells us what to do,” she said during a Q&A on her Instagram back in 2023. “And, in fact, all of the existing media around what a stepmother is casts us is like, in this evil, villainous light.”

“For myself, the minute I decided ― and fully embodied ― the idea that my stepkids were my kids and I love them just as much, and I gave them the same rules and boundaries and just kind of wholeheartedly went for it, then the easier the whole thing got,” the Oscar winner said.