Everything Thing We Know About Penn Badgley's Secret Relationship And Life As A Father
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Who seems less ready to be a father, Dan Humprey or Joe Goldberg? After playing Gossip Girl himself on the hit CW teen drama, Penn Badgley wowed fans with his portrayal of the serial killer on the Netflix series You. While neither character makes a particularly caring or endearing parent, given their tendency to spy on people and, in Joe’s case, murder them, Badgley is a father to the son James whom he shares with his wife Dominic Kirke. When the actor gives interviews, it’s a good reminder that he has a normal family life that is nothing like the intense world that Joe is part of.

Although Penn Badgley doesn’t often talk about his son or what it’s like for him to be a parent, he has been honest about this part of his life a few times, and fans will want to hear all about it.


What Has Penn Badgley Said About Being A Dad And His Marriage To Domino Kirke?

Whether Penn Badgley still likes You is a good question as he’s always speaking his mind about the character fans have become totally invested in. But while he speaks endlessly about his mindset surrounding Joe’s relationships and decisions, and made headlines when sharing that he didn’t want any intimate scenes in season 4, Badgley doesn’t often talk about his children.

Penn Badgley was on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on March 4th, 2023 and talked about his 4-year-old son, which allowed fans to feel like they got to know him a little bit better. He told a hilarious story about his son almost getting a glimpse of Joe Goldberg, which fans will absolutely want to hear about.

via YouTube, Netflix

The actor said, “There was recently a day where I was doing something really sweet with him you know like in my lap. And then I sat on the remote and…it just went right to Netflix on the TV. And my face was right on the TV. And he was like, ‘Daddy!’ I started to race around because the next thing he was going to see was something really crazy.”

He also called James “a pandemic kid” and used words like “joy” and “wild” to describe what it’s like for him to be a parent. He also gave other parents some inspiration by saying that if they are having a tough time, if they hang in there, things will improve.

penn-badgley
Via Netflix

Season 1 of You premiered in 2018, and in 2020, Dominic Kirke gave birth to their child James. According to Pop Buzz, Badgley also talked about how he would approach Joe as he became a parent. He spoke about how happy he has been as a dad and how Joe struggles so much.

RELATED: Penn Badgley’s Totally Honest Thoughts About Netflix’s You Season 4 Part 1 And His Controversial Character, Joe

The actor said, “The funny thing is I was curious what my new fatherhood, how that would influence my experience with Joe and acting with him. Sometimes it was almost not helpful because I was having such a light and joyful experience… still am, and Joe is so petrified. He’s so scared, and of course I can identify with the fear but he’s just so morbid in his obsessive, sort of like self-preservation, primal instinct that sometimes I almost found it harder as a result, you know what I mean?”

Penn Badgley starring as Joe Goldberg in season 4 of You
Via: Netflix

There’s definitely an interesting contrast between Badgley’s happy life with his wife and son and the intense character whom he has played since 2018.

Penn Badley Is A Stepfather To 14-Year-Old Cassius Riley

Badley and Kirke share their son James and he is also the stepfather of her teenage son Cassius, whom she shares with Morgan O’Kane. Dominic Kirke praised Penn Badgley in an interview with Us Weekly and said, “He’s a really good stepdad. He doesn’t have to be ‘dad’ so he can have more fun with him.”

Kirke continued to Us Weekly, “It’s really nice. The stepparent thing is definitely uncharted territory for me ’cause I didn’t grow up with one, but … he takes care of him really well.”

Penn Badgley As Joe Goldberg In Netflix's You
Via: Instagram

Anyone who is a stepparent can likely relate to Kirke’s words, as that can be a tricky relationship to navigate, but it sounds like they are doing very well.

While Badgley does sometimes talk about his love for his son and how much he appreciates having a family, he doesn’t often talk about his stepson, so it seems that he wants to keep that private.

Before the couple met in 2014, Kirke, whose sister is Jemima Kirke and is known for starring on HBO’s Girls, was raising her son on her own. She has really positive things to say about her husband, particularly when it comes to what he’s like as a father.

RELATED: Filming This ‘You’ Scene Was Too Much For Penn Badgley

In an interview with Glamour Magazine UK, Kirke was asked about “an average night” for her family and she said, “Kind of simple… similar to lots of people with school age kids: homework, bath time, dinner time. My eldest is 13, so there’s a lot of routine and a lot of staying home because of the pandemic.”

Penn Badgley Keeps His Son James Out Of The Spotlight Often

While Penn Badgley has an Instagram account that he updates often, and he has 4.7 million followers, he doesn’t post photos of James, Cassius, or his wife, so it’s nice when he and Kirke share more about their family in interviews.

Dominic Kirke and Penn Badgley eating outside
via Instagram

Kirke does share some photos of their family life, though. According to People, when James was two months old, Kirke posted a photo of Badgley holding the baby to her Instagram account. She added a heart in the caption.

RELATED: The Truth About Penn Badgley Needing To Be Resuscitated Multiple Times A Day When He Was Born

In November 2022, she posted paparazzi photos of her and Badgley sitting outside and enjoying a meal and noted that the press speculated that she was expecting a baby when she wasn’t. She wrote in the caption, “First time being caught eating with @pennbadgley and then accused of being prego! I end most days cradling a food baby. I plan on doing it today and manage to do it most days. Thanksgiving or not, don’t forget to chew, everyone!”

Even though he doesn’t talk that much about being a father, it’s always sweet to hear about what Badgley has experienced, and it sounds like he and Kirke are very happy with their family life.

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