Millie Bobby Brown has always been candid about her life in the spotlight, but even the 'Stranger Things' star is discovering that fame doesn’t necessarily prepare you for the chaos of introducing a new family member, especially if that family member has four legs and a flair for drama.
On a recent episode of 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' she shared how her beloved poodle, Winnie, has been navigating the arrival of her and husband Jake Bongiovi’s adopted daughter.
“It’s been… It’s a hit to the ego,” the star admitted. “I think she doesn’t understand it. She hasn’t acknowledged her presence yet, but my daughter now has totally figured out that she’s an animal.”
Winnie, Millie explained, is approaching the situation as if she can will her new sibling out of existence. “It’s a power play for her. She knows what she’s doing. She’s like, ‘I’m going to ignore you until you disappear,’ basically,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Winnie.’ I have sit-downs with her. I’m like, ‘She’s not going anywhere now.’”
The actress also recounted a particularly amusing standoff. “Last night, she took one of my daughter’s bath toys and ran it up the stairs and I said, ‘I saw you do that!’ And she poked her head around the corner and just death-stared me. She knew! She stopped on the stairs to be like, ‘Yeah, that’s right. What are you gonna do about it?’”
Clearly, Winnie thinks of herself as more human than canine. Millie explained, “Winnie understands the English language. I don’t think you understand.” And with that kind of personality, it’s no surprise that the poodle has become a bona fide star in her own right. Brown describes Winnie as a dog who craves an audience more than affection. “She doesn’t really care about human attention, she cares about an audience. She loves a camera.”
Winnie is just one of the couple’s 62 pets, a menagerie that also includes donkeys, cows, and 23 foster dogs. In the midst of all this furry chaos, Brown and Bongiovi are adjusting to life as new parents.
“This summer, we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption,” they wrote in an Instagram post back in August. “We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy. And then there were 3.”
Since then, the pair have been navigating the dual roles of celebrity life and full-on parenting. Ahead of her Tonight Show appearance, Brown and Bongiovi were spotted on a family outing in New York.
The star has also been protecting her daughter’s privacy with fierce dedication. Speaking to British Vogue, she emphasized, “For me, it’s really important to protect her and her story until she’s old enough to potentially one day share it herself. It’s our job to protect her from that.”
While she’s protective at home, she can’t resist sharing glimpses of her motherhood journey with fans. On the 'Smartless' podcast, she reflected on her lifelong desire to start a family. “My mom actually had her first child at 21, and my dad was 19. And you know, it’s been my thing since before I met Jake,” she said. “Since I was a baby... I wanted to be a mom just like the way my mom was to me. And my nan, my grandmother is, she was a huge part of my life.”
The actress and Bongiovi, both from families of four siblings, have big plans for their household. “I really want a big family,” Brown shared. “We are 50-50 on everything… he is just the most amazing dad.”