Tell Me Lies star Jackson White told his mom, Katey Sagal, when he was ready to lose his virginity.
“I always talked openly about sex and drugs with my kids,” Sagal, 71, said during the Tuesday, March 11, episode of the “MeSsy” podcast. “Well, I gave them information on an as-needed basis.”
The actress continued, “I wouldn’t overload them. I do remember at one point — because this generation, which is different than mine — maybe it was your generation, boys and girls have sleepovers in high school. … At least, when my older two [were] in high school, sex was coming into the story much younger.”
Sagal welcomed daughter Sarah, 30, and son Jackson, 29, while married to late ex-husband Jack White from 1993 to 2000. She and husband Kurt Sutter welcomed daughter Esme via surrogate in 2007.
“I remember telling [Sarah and Jackson], when you’re old enough and you want to have sex, you need to tell me because we need to talk about getting protection, we need to talk about all this stuff,” Segal said. “When Jackson was 16 years old, he comes to me. On the day: ‘I’m ready, Mom.’”
The Sons of Anarchy alum said that the actor did have a girlfriend at the time. She had a conversation with Jackson and his stepdad, Sutter, about sex.
“It was the time when all the parents talked about that s—. You guys will get there,” Segal told “MeSsy” podcast hosts Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Christina Applegate, who are both mothers. “It was like, ‘OK, our kids are in the 11th grade, and they’re boyfriend and girlfriend, and they want to explore things.’ For me, that was the backseat of a car. I’m not sure that was the best place to be, even though it was kind of exciting, I must say.”
Sagal said that it’s an important part of her parenting journey to have an “open dialogue” with her kids about these topics. She also spoke about how she and Sutter, 64, are preparing their youngest daughter, Esme, for her forthcoming college experience.
“We talk a lot about, ‘Do not do drugs, period,’” she said. “She’s grown up in a household of no alcohol, so we’re going to let her try some alcohol before she goes to college. Only because I don’t think the first experience should be at a frat party with a keg or whatever. She should know what that is.”
