Actress and author Jenny Mollen drew online backlash last month after a controversial Instagram post prompted critics to resurface a May Substack essay about raising sons — with both sparking widespread debate about appropriate boundaries between mothers and sons.
On May 25, Ms. Mollen posted two photos on Instagram showing herself lying in bed on top of her 12-year-old son, Sid, with an original caption reading, “Your eldest will be the most toxic guy you ever date,” which she later removed.
The photos drew attention back to a May 10 essay Ms. Mollen had published on her Substack page, “The Best Friend Experience,” titled “Please. Stay. I want you. I need you. Oh, God.” Critics described the post as “creepy” and “inappropriate.”
In the piece, Ms. Mollen wrote that she only wants her sons to marry women with dead mothers, calling it her “only shot at staying relevant, of seeming useful, and of winning by comparison.” She also described her and Jason Biggs’ sons, aged 8 and 12, as “the most emotionally high-maintenance men I’ve ever dated.”
In the essay, Ms. Mollen also reflected on watching her sons grow up and eventually leave home. “I am living through the longest goodbye of my life,” she wrote, concluding the piece with: “I pray that at least one of them is gay.”
The essay was discussed on “The View” on Wednesday, with Sara Haines coming to Ms. Mollen’s defense.
Ms. Mollen responded to the controversy Monday in a new Substack post titled “The Love That Breaks Us,” writing that “the internet called me a child molester for posting a photo of myself holding my son” and suggesting critics failed to grasp her humor.
The backlash comes weeks after representatives for both Ms. Mollen and Mr. Biggs confirmed their separation on May 14, 2026, after 18 years of marriage. The couple, who met on the set of the 2007 film “My Best Friend’s Girl,” said they remain on “great terms” and are committed to co-parenting their two sons.
The estranged couple was spotted together over the weekend in New York City, stepping out for a family dinner — their first public outing since announcing the split. At one point, Ms. Mollen grabbed Mr. Biggs’ arm, though there was no obvious public display of affection.
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