Not every married woman fantasized about being a wife before they became one. Ayesha Curry didn’t and is being candid about her unexpected journey to getting married and starting a family at 22.
The 36-year-old chef shared that her life looks starkly different than what she imagined as a child during a talk with the Call Her Daddy podcast, which was released August 20th.
“I didn’t want kids. I didn’t wanna get married. I thought I was gonna be a career girl and that’s it,” Curry explained. “And I had my eyes set on my goals, and I was never the little girl that, like, dreamt about the wedding dress and all of that.”
Ayesha said she aspires to become an actor and move to Los Angeles after graduating from high school. However, she met NBA player Steph Curry at a church youth group in Charlotte, North Carolina, and they eventually got married in 2011.
When the show host, Alex Cooper, asked how she knew she was ready to make the long-term commitment of marriage and kids, the cookbook author says she didn’t.
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “I just knew that I loved him and I’d never experienced anything else. I’d never felt any differently than, like, this is who I wanna spend the rest of my life with. And so we kinda just dove in.”
Ayesha also got pregnant less than a year after getting married, giving her little time to adjust to her new life.
“My OB said expect it to take up to a year. And so I’m like, in my head, I heard at least a year,” Ayesha explained. “I was thinking we were gonna be bar hopping. It’s like, ‘Nope. You’re pregnant and you’re gonna be very, very sick.’ ”
The Currys gave birth to their first child, Riley, in July 2012. They went on to have three more children over the years, including their daughter, Ryan, and sons, Canon and Caius.
“After we got married, we found out we were pregnant with our daughters so quickly I didn’t even have time to think about what I wanted anymore,” she explained. “It’s so interesting. I spent my entire life, like, trying to work towards something, and then it kind of just disappeared, and I didn’t think twice about it.
The mother of four added, “But after my daughter turned 1, I remember there being a shift and being like, ‘I have goals for myself. Like, this doesn’t feel right. I love being a mom, but I love doing other things too.’”
The 36-year-old has gone on to create a career she loves, which includes authoring three cookbooks, launching a cooking show, and establishing a lifestyle brand, Sweet July.
Although Ayesha’s life looks different from what she planned, she said she’s “grateful” for the family she’s built.
“I wouldn’t change a thing, of course. But, yeah, it was not on my bingo card.”