Why Michael Cera Kept His Son's Birth a Secret For So Long

Since breaking into Hollywood in 1999, Michael Cera has made a name for himself with roles in "Arrested Development," "Superbad," and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." The actor also won everyone over with his recent performance of Allan in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie." Despite being a huge star, Cera prefers to keep a low profile when it comes to his personal life. Although we know Cera is married to a woman named Nadine, we don't know much about their relationship. Details about Cera's wife, like her last name, also remain a mystery.

In fact, the couple is so low-key that they kept the birth of their first child a secret for months. Fans first became aware of their baby in March 2022 after Cera's "Life & Beth" costar, Amy Schumer, accidentally let it slip in their joint interview with Entertainment Tonight. While talking about her son, Gene, Schumer noted, "Michael has a baby, too," before realizing he hadn't officially announced the news himself. "Is that public knowledge?" she questioned. "I just outed him, I just outed his baby." Cera confirmed he welcomed his first child with Nadine by revealing that they were "right at the beginning" of their parenting journey. "We're doing the very basics right now," he said. However, he didn't share any more details at the time.

So, what else has Cera said about his son? Here's everything we know about the actor's life as a father.

Rumors that Cera and Nadine had tied the knot first surfaced in March 2018 after the actor was spotted wearing a gold wedding band on his left hand, per Us Weekly. Over the years, Cera has rarely opened up about his personal life, which is why the news of him welcoming a child with Nadine came as such a surprise. Days after Schumer and Cera's joint interview in March 2022, the actor told ExtraTV that his son was born sometime in 2021. "He's just a little 6-month-old baby," he confirmed.

While appearing on Justin Long's "Life Is Short" podcast in September 2022, Cera explained he kept quiet about his son's arrival for so long because he didn't know how to announce it since he isn't on social media. "I just didn't tweet about it," he said. "I don't know what the protocol is [when you have a kid]." Cera also said that he and his wife haven't shared any pictures of their son because they want to respect his privacy. "I don't know if he would consent to being posted," Cera explained.

When Long asked if Cera had always dreamed of becoming a father, the actor had a surprising answer. "A lot of my [guy] friends when I asked that question, mostly everyone says, 'Yeah,'" he began. "But that was never my response or my feeling. I was just not that defined in my own feelings about it because I was enjoying my life. I could have gone on like that." Cera admitted he could have seen it "going both ways," but since welcoming his son, he now can't imagine life without him. "It's so great. You can't even measure how much joy [it's been]. Throughout the day, it's just like amazing," he said.

However, Cera explained that it's been hard being away from his son due to work obligations. "When you're working you really miss the kids. I just think about him all day and look at pictures of him when I'm away from him," he said.

Fatherhood has definitely appeared to shift Cera's priorities. In February 2023, he told the Hollywood Reporter that being a father has made him change the way he views his career. "You just want to spend as much time with them as possible. So when I was 20, I would have been way happier to go off to some weird city and live in a hotel for three months. And when you have kids, you want to be with your family. And you miss them a lot," he explained.