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Entertainment
Hollywood couple Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett open up about life raising their teenage twins.
After nearly 27 years of marriage, and 18 years of parenthood, Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance are gearing up for their next roles: empty nesters.
“Our life has been getting ready for this,” Vance told People magazine.
In recent cover stories for People magazine, the Emmy-winning actor, 63, and Academy Award-winning actress, 65, opened up about juggling demanding acting careers while raising their fraternal twins, daughter Bronwyn Golden and son Slater Josiah.
“I always tell people that I go to work to rest, and I come home to work,” said the “Heist 88” actor.
From DoorDash orders overshadowing homecooked meals to the guilt of having to spend time away, Bassett and Vance share what they’ve done to keep their family unit thriving since welcoming their twins in 2006.
“Our mantra was, ‘Somebody’s going to be home,’” Vance explained. “We’re never going to have both of us gone at the same time and the nanny raising the children.”
Even with this golden rule, the parents often still feel the pressure of being away from home. For Bassett, who currently stars in and executive produces ABC’s hit show “9-1-1,” filming often takes her away from the house before the sun rises, and she sometimes returns long after it’s set. “I feel a little guilt in that,” she admitted.
She added, “I hope that what will come out of that is that [my kids] see a mama, a woman, a Black woman achieving her dreams, having success. They’ll see that hard work pays off. And they’ll be about that life for themselves.”
As their twins have grown into older teens, they have predictably become independent.
“Now it’s a switch. They’re older. They like to DoorDash. I’m like, ‘I’m going to cook tonight.’ [They go], ‘Oh, Mom, my meal’s coming in five minutes,’” Bassett said through laughter.
Another tactic that has worked for their unit of four is communication. Vance noted that all of them can be equally busy, meaning there can be a lot to balance at times.
“The four of us and our company manager and our executive assistant, we’re a machine that really everybody’s got to communicate, ‘Who’s got this person, who’s got that person?’” he said.
Now that his children are nearing college, that is all about to change.
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“It’s another transition. We’ve [gone] down the baby aisle; now we’ve got to go down the empty nest aisle and get used to them not being here,” he notes.
Vance told People his family has toured 26 colleges in the process, adding that in order to soften the blow of the twins leaving, he and Bassett may take a vacation rather than come straight home after dropping them off at college this fall.
He added, “So you come back with some deliciousness instead of some sadness in your mind and heart.”
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