Meghan King Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Meghan King is opening up for the first time about her son Hart’s new mood disorder diagnosis while living with cerebral palsy.
The former Real Housewives of Orange County star, 39, exclusively chatted with Us Weekly about her son’s health update while promoting her new activewear line with clothing company SewSewYou. The proceeds of the limited edition activewear collection, Harty, in honor of her son’s nickname, will go toward the 5-year-old’s care amid his new diagnosis.
“My son Hart has cerebral palsy, which I have talked about. And he knows he has cerebral palsy, but there’s other things that have come up and I’ve just been trying to kind of figure out what that’s been,” King told Us. “His needs fall under the neurodivergent category. And so, like a lot of other parents with children in this category, it can be really trying to find your way through the weeds to figure out what’s going on with your kid and finding a diagnosis in order to be able to articulate his needs better so we can provide the access to [his] needs.”
King, who shares twin sons Hart and Hayes, as well as daughter Aspyn, 7, with ex-husband Jim Edmonds, went on to tell Us about why she feels it’s important to bring awareness to psychiatric diagnoses in kids.
Proud parent! Meghan King has three children with ex-husband Jim Edmonds and loves documenting her lives with the little ones on social media. The Real Housewives of Orange County alum became a mom in November 2016 when daughter Aspen arrived, two years after her and the former professional baseball player’s St. Louis wedding. “Jimmy and […]
“These mental diagnoses are becoming more prevalent among children. By talking about it with the world, I’m helping to break a stigma by talking about our children,” she explained, noting that the “stigma [of] talking about” adults and their mental health “has been broken,” as more people have openly talked about their struggles in recent years.
She continued, “But we haven’t really extended that same sort of grace to our children who are grappling with psychiatric issues. And it doesn’t just affect the individual child who really struggles to understand their emotions. They’re growing up just like every other child, but they have extra hurdles to work through. And they don’t understand that. And that affects the entire family unit because of it.”
The former Bravo personality told Us that while she’s “happy” now that Hart finally got a diagnosis, the label “doesn’t change” her son, but “it does change his access.”
“I’m a mom of action and I’ve always have been,” she said. “We’re always trying to get to the heart of the matter and the heart of the truth. Now it’s more of a direct path with road signs along the way. It’s a new thing, but kids are resilient and they’re adaptable.”
“I’m lucky enough to be able to spend the money to find the care that he needs. But it’s expensive. And so all of the profits from the Harty Collection will go to reimburse everything that I’ve poured my heart, soul [and] money into. The most important is Hart,” she said before delving into the definition of what a mood disorder could encapsulate.
“[It] can mean so many different things and there’s a huge spectrum – it’s anxiety, it’s depression, and it’s everything else,” said King. “He is not showing up to life, I guess, as a typical child would. But we’re hoping to get there. And that’s the thing. He has come so far with cerebral palsy. And now here we are and we have a different challenge ahead of us and, but I know that we can get through it if we do the therapies.”
King’s capsule collection with SewSewYou – in which the proceeds will help Hart access those therapies – has “been about a year in the making.” King went on to explain to Us why it was important to create an activewear line that was both sustainable and accessible to women of all walks of life – especially moms.
“I got to design it from start to finish. I picked out the fabric that I wanted and it’s sustainable,” she said. “We’re always on the go, especially as a single mom. So it’s nice to be able to celebrate sustainability and also make it affordable.”
King’s Harty Collection, which features pieces including leggings, hoodies and sports bras ranging from $45 to $62, is available on SewSewYou.com until Tuesday, September 3.
With reporting by Andrea Simpson