How Parenting Influencer Caitlin Murray Navigates Feelings of Mom Guilt (Exclusive)

Influencer Caitlin Murray rose to online fame for her candid take on parenting — which sometimes includes feelings of mom-guilt.

“I think just as, like, a human, we do go through those feelings of guilt or like questioning ourselves. [Like], ‘Is this OK? Am I right about this?’” Murray exclusively told Us Weekly, while promoting her partnership with Prego.

Murray explained that her mindset about parenting shifted following now 11-year-old son Calum’s diagnosis with leukemia in 2016. (Murray, who wed husband Michael in 2011, is also mom to 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son Luke.)

“I think that having gone through so much as a mom, having my son go through cancer and being his primary caretaker through all of that, I really, like, found my worth as a parent during that time,” she said. “I knew that I didn’t really care what anyone else thought about how my parenting journey should look to them, and that I was going to do it my way, and I didn’t care what anyone else thought about that, so I think it gave me a lot of conviction in myself.”

“While I’m sure there are plenty of times where I’ll feel guilty on a day to day basis, even just the little things,” she continued. “I think that just trusting your compass deep down and staying true to yourself and who you are, and knowing your strengths and playing to those, is the best way to block that guilt out.”

Murray, who goes by @bigtimeadulting online, utilizes her public platform to advocate for a number of things including motherhood and cancer research — and has caught the eye of several A-listers. For Murray, the likes of Pink, Jennifer Garner and more celebrities following her account has been “surreal.”

“I truly am a regular mom. I did not start this from any place of celebrity whatsoever, was not doing anything Hollywood, industry related, leading into this,” she explained. “To be recognized by people that you’ve viewed as very distant, foreign out of reach, has been an amazingly validating experience in terms of putting out content that felt really true to my heart.”

While Murray noted that she knew her content might be “a little taboo” or “a little over the top” for some people, she added that it’s “pretty cool” to know she has resonated with people who are “tycoons in their industries.” When it comes to getting words of wisdom from other celebrities, Murray has a few stars that she leans on.

“I always really enjoy Jennifer Garner. She always comes from a place of such integrity and authenticity and do-gooding, and she keeps it real, but she’s just a genuinely good person, and so she’s one of them, for sure,” Murray said. “I love turning to Chelsea Handler, who’s not a parent at all, but is so funny about how happy she is not to have children, which makes me laugh a lot. And Pink. I love watching Pink’s Stories. She shares a lot of funny stuff on her Stories that make me laugh and sort of take me away a little bit.”

While navigating motherhood, Murray is teaming up with Prego for a giveaway that gives parents the chance to win a Prego season meal kit and a $100 Taskrabbit voucher.

“I think one of the biggest things weighing on parents is, ‘when and how am I going to feed everyone?’” Murray said. “Dinner just almost feels like an impossible task at this time of year especially, and so Prego is awesome. They’ve acknowledged this massive struggle in parents lives, and they are trying to make it a little bit easier on us and doing this fun giveaway and the task rabbit voucher can be used to sort of offload a chore some tasks that you were hoping to get done, which is also sort of the last thing that we have time to get around to as parents.”