Rumer Willis On How Pregnancy Helped Stop People Pleasing: 'A Different Operating System'

Pregnancy comes with many changes, and for Rumer Willis, it came with learning how to set boundaries. 

Late last year, the eldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore announced that she was expecting her first child with her boyfriend, Derek Richard Thomas. Naturally, fans and family were over the moon about the announcement. 

In a recent episode of the Bathroom Chronicles podcast, Willis revealed changes that came with pregnancy, highlighting that pregnancy helped her know her boundaries. 

“The Odd Way Home” actress got candid about the changes that came with her pregnancy in the podcast, which People Magazine detailed. Speaking of a significant change, Willis disclosed that she had started to speak up for herself shortly after getting pregnant.

She suddenly rejected her old ways of accepting anything to please people and started saying “No” when necessary. Explaining the adjustment, the “Wild Cherry” actress said,

“It's made me upgrade so fast, like things where I used to have such a nature to be people pleasing or to not stand up for myself for little things that then would kind of get under my skin. I would say literally, maybe even a week after I got pregnant, all of a sudden, it was like, no, no, that's not going to work for me anymore."

She continued, "This is what I need to do to reorient this and speak up for myself. It was like a new equation and a new puzzle all of a sudden downloaded, and I had a different operating system."

Further into the discussion, the expectant mom shared how she has always dreamt about being a mom. The "Sorority Row" star disclosed, “It's like one of those weird things that I know sometimes people have such clarity about, like 'Oh, I want to be a musician, I want this,' and it was never a question for me that I wanted to be a mom.” 

Willis continued, “And that just felt like such a divine purpose and something that, when I started thinking about it, felt like such joy." Additionally, she noted how she looked forward to having special moments with her partner and their baby. “I can't even ... I can't wait,” Rumer remarked.

As mentioned, the “Air Strike” actress disclosed the news of her pregnancy last December. Willis announced with a photo of her cute baby bump. The image showed Willis' boyfriend, Thomas, sweetly kissing her burgeoning bump.

Almost immediately after she dropped the post, fans and well-wishers filled the comments with congratulatory messages.  Moore, Rumer’s mother, noted her excitement for the news on her Instagram. The 60-year-old reposted her daughter’s post and captioned it, “Entering my hot kooky, unhinged grandma era.”

Moore wasn’t the only family member who was over the moon about Rumer’s pregnancy! Tallulah, Rumer’s younger sister, was excited too and ensured to spend time with her sister. Last month, The Blast reported that the two sisters spent time together bonding over her bump.

In the upload, the soon-to-be mom posed sideways with her shirt raised, revealing her baby bump. Tallulah squatted next to her big sis and playfully stuck her tongue out as they posed for a mirror selfie. 

The Willis sisters were dressed in casual pants, sweatshirts, and sneakers. Alongside the picture was a lengthy update from the 35-year-old about her prenatal experience.

The message read, “As soon as I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things I did health-wise was start looking at what I was putting in my body and on my body from food to lotions, oils, beverages and especially vitamins.”

The later parts of the update revealed that the actress wanted only the “most natural things” with the least ingredients, so she researched. She was able to try several prenatal vitamins. According to her, some products made her “feel sick,” and others did not have the required ingredients. However, she discovered @shakleehq Meology prenatal and decided to try it.