The actress is stepmom to husband Michael Barrett’s two kids

Anna Faris is opening up about how she learned the ropes of being a stepmom.

The actress, 47, spoke with Hoda Kotb and Justin Sylvester on Today on Monday, July 15 ahead of the release of her new film My Spy The Eternal City, which will be available on Prime Video July 18. Faris candidly spoke about her experience becoming a stepmom after she married cinematographer Michael Barrett in 2021.

Barrett is dad to two kids from a previous relationship, “a teenage girl and boy,” Faris explained to Kotb and Sylvester. “She’s 20 now. She’s at Georgetown [University]. I’m really proud of her, and a 17-year-old boy who’s totally excelling at school.”

The House Bunny star then admitted that she stumbled while trying to find a way to relate to her stepkids when she first tried to bond with them.

“But when I first was entered into their lives I had no idea how to relate to them,” Faris shared. “So I remember trying to be really cool, like blasting music when I would go pick up my stepdaughter, and, of course, she was mortified.”

“That’s kind of one example of my stumbling through that position,” Faris said, noting that she eventually learned to take a step back and let the kids come to her.

The actress is also a mom to her son Jack Daniel, 11, whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Pratt.

In a November 2022 issue of PEOPLE, Faris opened up about her relationship with her stepkids, sharing that she didn’t understand why they didn’t like her at first.

Chris Pratt, wife Anna Faris and son Jack Prat. AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC

“I think that I didn’t give them a ton of reason to cultivate a trusting relationship, because I also think, when you’re an actor, your…interactions are different than with most people,” she said at the time.

“Most people, even if they don’t care for you, are really kind to you, which of course, inflates your ego or whatever, and you just don’t tend to have a ton of rude or normal interactions,” continued Faris. “And I think that I didn’t respect the idea that I have a completely different relationship with them.”

As time went on, Faris said the three have bonded. “I have this special place in their life where I just get to be supportive. And I have been really working hard on that.”