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Kerry Washington Explained Why She Keeps Her Three Children Out Of The Public Eye, And It Makes A Lot Of Sense

"They're not, like, locked in a dungeon."

Larry Fitzmaurice
by Larry Fitzmaurice

BuzzFeed Staff

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You know Kerry Washington.

Person in a black turtleneck, large black sunglasses, and checkered earrings, waving
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

You probably also know that she's been married to actor and former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha since 2013.

Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha at an event
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

The couple share two children together — Isabelle and Caleb — and Kerry's also a stepparent to Nnamdi's child from a previous relationship.

Man in a blue suit and brown shoes holding hands with a woman in a green top and purple skirt with a thigh-high slit, walking on a city street
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However, Kerry and Nnamdi have chosen to keep their children out of the public eye since they've been together — and in a new interview with People, Kerry explained exactly why that is.

Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha at a formal event. Kerry wears a laced evening gown, and Nnamdi wears a bow-tied tuxedo. They are posing together
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

"I think just from the very beginning, Nnamdi and I have been really protective of our partnership and our relationship," she explained, "because we wanted it to belong to us, and we found that we were able to define and create a relationship for ourselves and with each other outside of the public eye."

A woman wearing a stylish, patterned coat poses in front of a decorative background
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

"And I think in many ways, we just want to give our kids that same opportunity to define a life for themselves and to enter the public space in their own way."

Nnamdi Asomugha in casual attire and Kerry Washington in a stylish sleeveless dress posing together at an event
Dave J Hogan / Dave Hogan/Getty Images for Spotify

Kerry also allowed that she and Nnamdi are "definitely not as protective as we used to be" when it comes to keeping their children away from the cameras.

Kerry Washington at the American Black Film Festival. She is wearing a beige blazer over a knitted top and matching shorts
Alekandra London / Getty Images

"They're not, like, locked in a dungeon," she laughed. "They do, you know, come to set, we go places, we do things. We do feel like we want to give them agency to engage in a public life in the way they want to, because this is what we do."

Kerry Washington, in casual sweater and jeans, posing with Nnamdi Asomugha, wearing a coat over a t-shirt
Bruce Glikas / Getty Images

"We've chosen to be athletes and artists, and that's our choice. But we want to let them be kids."

Kerry Washington in a patterned dress and a shimmery jacket, standing next to Nnamdi Asomugha who is wearing a suit and a tie
Araya Doheny / Getty Images

Pretty reasonable, in my opinion!

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