A fulfilled mother of three children, Amel Bent wants to pass on to them the values instilled by her own mother, but also takes care not to cut them off from new technologies. We spoke with the singer who does not close the door to a 4th child even if her days are already busy!
back in The Voice alongside Zazie, Vianney and the newcomers Bigflo and Oli, Amel Bent is currently finishing his V tourliving and is preparing his 8th album. The singer, whom the public had the pleasure of seeing on the show dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the New star where it was revealed, also participated with joy in the big concert of the Enfoirés broadcast this Friday, March 3. This mother of three children (Sofia, 7 years old, Hana, 5 and a half years old and Zayn, 10 months) must also reconcile her professional life and her role as a mother. She explains to us how she organizes herself to go all out and how her pregnancies went, which were, for some, more rock’n roll than others!
You have two girls and a boy. Did you expect to have a boy after your girls?
Amel Bent. “I had no particular expectations, but it is true that I knew each time that I was going to have a girl or a boy. It was a certainty. When I was told for my elders: “What do you want? A boy or a girl?” I was answering : “I know it’s a girl”. For the first and second pregnancy, I was firmly convinced of this. For the 3rd pregnancy, I said to myself: “it smells like the boy“. When I was asked why, I answered that the pregnancy was not the same.
During my 3rd pregnancy, I gained much more weight and was much sicker. I had a lot more back pain and I had excruciating attacks of sciatica. I slept very badly and had acid reflux all the time. I was always in acidity so it was very hard to sing. I had none of these symptoms when I was expecting my daughters. I gained 8 kilos, I was super balanced and very well. I didn’t have too much back pain and I was very active until the end. For my son, I also worked, but it was hard because I couldn’t breathe at the end. I knew it was a boy because it was more rowdy inside (laughs). He was turning and kicking all the time whereas for my girls it was calmer and softer.”
“During my 3rd pregnancy, I gained a lot more weight and I was a lot sicker”.
How did your births go?
Amel Bent. Everything went well, but it must be said that I am resistant to evil. For my son, there were forty hours of work. For my first daughter, 31 hours and for the 2nd only three or four. But it didn’t really mark because I’m resisting well.
“For my son, there were forty hours of work”.
When you have to be away, how do you arrange for childcare?
Amel Bent. In terms of logistics, we need help but there are two of us. The dad ensures and plays his role. When I’m away, he takes care of the children, and when he’s the one working, I take over. Then there are the grannies. The family still plays an important role when you have a somewhat disjointed job like mine. The schedule is changing, but I still have free time and I’m not complaining. My daughters are in school and I was lucky to have a place in a crèche for my son. I also have a nanny who takes care of after school when we are not there.
There are rush moments like the morning when it’s the race, but like for all parents. It’s no more complicated for me than for any mom or any dad. My job is not the most complicated to reconcile work and family life: I am thinking of the health professions or those who work at night for whom it is much more delicate.
What mom are you?
Amel Bent. I’m a stickler for education, because my mother was like that with me. I think it’s important to have a solid framework and foundations. The generation of my children will be different with social networks and you need a good foundation. I have inherited things that I want to pass on to my children, but I also try to be good in my time or rather in theirs. When I hear that we shouldn’t have screens, I agree, but neither should children be completely cut off from new technologies because they will evolve in this world and work with it. When I was little, there were no cell phones, computers or internet. I am therefore square, but I do not want to cut them off from their reality and the world in which they will live. It’s a daily questioning: I talk a lot with their father and we are looking for compromises.
Have you always wanted to have a big family? And do you plan to have another child?
Amet Bent. Already for me, three children is not a big family, but a beautiful family. But it is true that one of my daughters often says to me: “mom, you’re not having a 4th child, there are already a lot of characters at home” (laughs). We don’t make children for ourselves and to have fun, but to offer them enough to grow well and become responsible adults. So if I have the assurance of giving them the best, why not make the family even bigger? But if it’s just to make a child, I don’t know. In the immediate future, it’s already the race and my son is only 10 months old, so that’s not what comes to mind right now. We are barely finding a daily rhythm that makes everyone feel good.
Have you always wanted to be a mother?
There was never any thought about motherhood. I grew up with a lot of wives and moms. All the women around me, namely my mother, my aunt and my grandmother, are mothers in my family. It was obvious to me that I was going to have children and start my family.