Danica McKellar’s life is different than it used to be, and for her, it’s all thanks to faith.
“Faith guides everything, including parenting,” the actress told Fox News Digital in a new interview. “For me, my faith journey has led me to the most comforting place of knowing that I can consult with God at any time.”
McKellar, who is set to star in Great American Family’s “A Cinderella Christmas Ball,” airing in November, shares a son, 14-year-old Draco, with ex-husband Mike Verta. She is currently married to attorney Scott Sveslosky, who also has a son from a previous relationship.
The “Wonder Years” alum, who is currently in the middle of reading the Bible through for a second time, said, “This is so comforting to me to have this other guiding force in my life.”
McKellar explained that parenting had become less stressful after she found her faith. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
DANICA MCKELLAR FOUND FAITH AFTER OVERCOMING BIAS AGAINST CHRISTIANITY: ‘I FEEL SO BLESSED’
She continued, “Having that relationship, having that faith means that when trials and tribulations happen, because they still happen, there’s like all that in-between time.”
McKeller admitted that she “used to spend a lot more time worrying and stressing out about how to make decisions and what to do next and ‘What if, what if,’” but now, “Knowing it’s in God’s hands means that even when things happen that I don’t think I want to have happen, I can say, ‘Well, let me just be curious about this. I wonder what the big plan is that I can’t see.'”
WATCH: Danica McKellar shares how faith ‘guides’ her parenting
She said that it is “incredible what that perspective shift does for you,” and added that finding her faith has been “an amazing journey.”
“Two and a half years now since I found the Lord,” she remarked. “And it’s been incredible.”
McKellar said she used to spend time stressing about the “what ifs” in life, but since finding faith, she feels comfortable knowing that it is in God’s hands. (Photo by David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
In a December 2023 appearance on “Fox & Friends,” McKellar explained that it was fellow former child star Candace Cameron Bure who helped her find religion.
“I’ve been around Christianity my whole life in some way, shape or form,” she explained, “but it never really clicked. And my good friend Candace Cameron Bure, . . . she brought me to church. And all I can say is that something happened . . . I was flooded with this love and understanding.”
“Faith guides everything, including parenting. . . . For me, my faith journey has led me to the most comforting place of knowing that I can consult with God at any time.”
She was seeing a “passion play” with Bure when she “suddenly understood.”
“Everything I always thought about there being some higher power and wanting to do the right thing, just because it’s the right thing, when no one’s watching, why that matters, and it all just came into focus. And I feel so blessed.”
Fellow child star, Candace Cameron Bure, helped McKellar find religion. (Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)
Now, she tells Fox News Digital that she sees “crazy miracles” in the little things.
After explaining that her son Draco is “definitely a performer of some sort,” she said, “I’m here to support him in whatever he wants to do. It’s the greatest joy in the world to be a parent.”
“He’s taller than me now, by the way,” she went on. “That just happened. That is blowing my mind . . . It’s like when you give birth, it’s the most amazing experience in the whole world. When your son gets taller than you, it’s like ‘What is this incredible experience?'”
She laughed, “It happens every day, and somehow, when it happens to you, it’s some sort of crazy miracle.”
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If Draco does decide to go into performing professionally, McKellar, who has over 100 acting credits to her name, has some solid advice for him.
The actress said she would tell her son to find another passion if he told her he wanted to act. (Photo by Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images)
“Find something else that you also love to do that you can make money at, because this business is not reliable,” she said.
For her, that thing was “writing math books.” She mentioned that she is currently writing another one, despite being a busy working actress. She graduated summa cum laude from UCLA in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.
“Having something that you’re more in control of is vital for your mental health, because there’s just so much rejection and so much uncertainty,” she told Fox News Digital. “You just don’t know what you’re going to be doing this time next year. You literally have no idea. And so it’s for your financial security and your mental sanity. I recommend having something else that you also love that you can make money at while you pursue acting.”
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When asked how she avoided the pitfalls of child stardom, McKellar admitted that she believes that “former child stars get kind of a bad name,” just because it’s the dramatic stories about them that tend to make headlines.
WATCH: Danica McKellar shares what advice she would give her son if he wanted to be an actor
“There are pitfalls,” she acknowledged, “but I don’t think it’s quite as common as you might be led to believe. . . . But I definitely credit my parents for never overemphasizing the importance of fame.”
McKellar called her break from Hollywood and acting “satisfying.” (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
She said that teaching from her parents was likely a contributing factor to her decision to take a break from acting to pursue her math degree.
“I took a break, and I really just got away from Hollywood, and I really explored my brain, and it was incredibly satisfying and important for my own development and important for not having my sense of self so connected to success in the business, since success in the business is so fickle,” she explained.
