Jane Fonda Opens Up About Her Biggest Regret And How She's Trying To Make Amends

Hollywood Veteran Jane Fonda has reminisced over her past decisions and her contrition towards how she raised her kids.

Fonda reckoned that when she had her children, she didn't have what it took to be a better mother to them, but after gaining knowledge via her organization, she now sees motherhood in a more informed light.

The actress, who was diagnosed with cancer last September, also opened up about an eating disorder she struggled with in her early days, divulging that she was very unhappy at the time.

Read on for more details.

During an interview with CNN's Chris Wallace, Fonda discussed her experience with parenting her children, divulging that she had some reservations about how she handled it at the time.

The "Barbarella" actress said on "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" that she doesn't have many regrets but particularly regrets the way she parented her children because she didn't know any better at the time.

"What I'm really scared of is getting to the end of life with a lot of regrets when there's no time to do anything about it. And it's one reason that I try, I'm trying to get it all done before I come to the end," she said per Insider.

"I was not the kind of mother that I wish that I had been to my children," Fonda added. "I have great, great children, talented and smart, and I just didn't know how to do it," the actress added.

Fonda, 85, explained that her work with her organization, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, has helped her gain more knowledge about parenting, making her readjust and become more intentional with her children.

"I know what it's supposed to be now, I didn't know then," Fonda said. "So I'm trying to show up now."

The Golden Globe award-winning actress was diagnosed with cancer in September, but she chose to look on the brighter side of the situation, revealing that she feels lucky over the diagnosis.

Fonda took to Instagram to reveal the news of her diagnosis with fans last September, making sure to point out that it was treatable.

She captioned a photo of herself, "So, my dear friends, I have something personal I want to share. I've been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments. This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky."

The actress revealed that she had been undergoing chemo for six months and purposed not to allow anything to interfere with her activism. She called cancer a "teacher" and noted that she has been paying attention to its lessons, explaining that it taught her to pay attention to communities.

In a recent appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the actress revealed she struggled with an eating disorder in her 20s and thought she wouldn't make it past her 30s.

"In my 20s, I was starting to be a movie actor," Fonda divulged to host Alex Cooper, per Insider. "I suffered from bulimia very, very bad. I led a secret life."

She went on to reveal she was "very, very unhappy" at the time and thought she "wouldn't live past 30." Fonda also shared that her mother struggled with an eating disorder before taking her life in 1950 when she was just 12 years old.

The "Coming Home" actress recounted how her struggle with the eating disorder provoked her to take action in order to stop it, but she didn't get much luck with that. Fonda noted that it initially started "so innocent" but quickly turned into something else.

"What you don't realize is it becomes a terrible addiction that takes over your life," she said, explaining that she was "miserable" and "kept wanting to quit." 

The two-time Oscar award-winning actress explained that the disorder changed her physical orientation and always made her feel tired.

Fonda also stated that the illness affected her relationships in specific ways, saying, "Your day becomes organized around getting food and then eating it, which requires that you're by yourself and that no one knows what you're doing."

She revealed that as she got older, the disorder worsened and began to affect her physical makeup, making her think she would die.