‘Celebrity Apprentice’ star Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, retired NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, opened up to Redbook magazine about dealing with their son, R.J.’s diagnosis of autism.
“We went through this emotional connection, and we just cried in each other’s arms. We didn’t know what the hell this autism thing was. We were both in denial for a few weeks.”
Rodney adds: “I stayed angry and blamed the doctor and was still in denial-while Holly basically rolled up her sleeves and did what needed to be done.”
Holly talked about what she and Rodney learned as a couple while trying to deal with R.J.’s autism.
“The problem with autism is that you don’t know if things are going to come out fine. You just have to tweak the expectations. And that’s what I knew I needed Rodney for-I needed a partner in that journey. We still have our issues, but there’s never any talk of our marriage being over, or any of that stuff we used to talk about.”
Adds Rodney: “It’s Team Peete.”
I can’t even IMAGINE what dealing with something so serious must be like.
Rodney talked about how the whole experience changed him as a person.
“It made me let my guard down and be vulnerable. That was hard for me, because I had been expected to be strong and show confidence always-when you’re a quarterback, that’s what you’ve got to do…In retrospect, it’s also made me think how ironic it is that my whole life has been spent on team sports…That’s what it takes, a team, and that’s what Holly was trying to get me to understand.”
I’m glad they were able to stay together through this. It sounds like their marriage has come out stronger! You can read their entire interview, and learn more about Rodney’s memoir, ‘Not My Boy!’ and their children’s book, ‘My Brother Charlie’ in the May issue of Redbook, which is available now.
Main Photo by David Tsay
Thumbnails by FAME
Gorgeous family. God bless them all.
I get her when she’s talking about the not knowing how it’ll work out, with autism (or autism spectrum really), it isn’t really this one disorder, it varies so much from one person to another. They seem to be handling it really well though, much strenght to them.
She pimps out her kid a lot just like Jenny McCarthy used to.
don’t be so quick to judge. you don’t understand what it’s like till you walk in their shoes. opening up about a struggle like autism is often therapeutic and helps bring attention to a disorder/diagnosis that affects so many.
xy mom I so agree with your statement. People should not judge others. She is bringing attention along with Jenny to Autisim.
don’t forget jenny’s kid is now cured from autism….(rolling eyes)
but what if her kid doesn’t want to be known as the boy who has autism?
That would probably be due to the stigma attached to it (and not fitting into what society might define as “normal”), which means we probably should be talking about these things more. It’s not like autism is this great big evil that eats babies and kittens.
I love this family, and I’m glad they were able to make it through. more power to them for writing a book and bringing light to the situation
Muuuuuuuch prefer the Peete family as an advocate for autism than Jenny. They seem very grounded about it.
What a great post. Love this family! Wish them all the best!
I have a son who was recently diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum….I agree with the people saying not too judge because you’ve never walked in our shoes before. I like that fact that she is brining awareness to this epidemic…1 in 90 kids are being diagnosed now…scary but as a parent, we have to remain strong and do the best for our kids. They are wonderful individuals : )