Leslie’s partner is her White Lotus costar Sam Rockwell. The pair have been together since 2007.
In a conversation about her past relationship, Leslie revealed that it was someone who “tolerated” her but didn’t “celebrate” her. Ending that relationship led her to reflect on what she truly wanted for herself.
“I don’t want kids, it’s not a chip I have,” Leslie said. “And the mom I would wanna be, I’m not sure I can be.”
“And that’s only because my mom, my dad died when I was 3 and my mom had a really hard time with it,” Leslie added. “And then she was working all the time because she had four girls and she had to. And I think I really felt the loss of her presence because she was hustling.”
“All I wanted was her there, but she was providing for us. So, I think I knew how important that was for me, too, if I had a kid, I would want to give that to them,” she continued.
“The other thing she taught me, which is ‘hustle,’ and I saw how happy she was. I wanted my mom there, but I knew that I had a better, more fun mom, because she was really fulfilled by her work,” she said. Leslie shared that her mother loved being a parent, but she also “liked being an independent woman.”
When Jenna suggested that Leslie didn’t have “a maternal feeling,” the 52-year-old actor said, “No, I never did. I have it toward dogs!”
Jenna added to the conversation, saying, “It’s such an interesting conversation because I think what it means to be a woman is different for each of us. And yet, we are defined so much by motherhood.”
