The COVID-19 pandemic was a double-edged sword of enduring hardship and appreciating togetherness for many families. That was certainly the case for Jessica Alba and her loved ones. The actor and entrepreneur tells SELF that her family relied heavily on each other while going through challenges like isolation and loss during the pandemic. “A lot of my family members were affected by it,” Alba says of the virus. “It was scary.”
While Alba, her husband Cash Warren, and their three children (13-year-old Honor, 10-year-old Haven, and 3-year-old Hayes) have stayed healthy, they had numerous relatives who got sick, including several who died and others who had frightening battles. In February of this year, Alba shared that her father Mark had recently recovered from COVID-19 and was also undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. This summer, her younger brother Joshua Alba revealed a terrifying battle with COVID-19 at the end of 2020. (He took several trips to the ER, and a few weeks after his recovery, on Christmas morning, collapsed from pulmonary embolisms connected to his illness.)
But the pandemic was also an opportunity for connection and practicing gratitude for each other as a family. “I think as a family we tried to lean into each other and focus on what we do have—and the fact that we got to spend quality time with each other,” says Alba, 40. “We just constantly try to remind the kids of what we do have and how grateful we are.” Alba firmly believes they’ve come out together on the other side more tightly bonded and resilient. “When you can get through it, it just makes you stronger,” Alba says. “We got through it.”
In Alba’s household, leaning on each other means not only making it through the tough times, but also being joyful and letting loose together. Sometimes that looks like Alba and her kids chilling out with some face masks (the fun kind!) and self-pampering. “We like to do at-home spa treatments,” says Alba. “We’ll even get Cash in on it, or my parents if they’re around.” Other times, it’s getting their hands dirty with cooking or crafting. “We’ll make little at-home gifts, crafty kinds of things,” Alba says.
For a more active form of stress relief and family bonding, Alba and her family turn to video gaming. Alba, who is currently partnering with Nintendo to promote the Nintendo Switch, says that playing movement-based video games is a major source of collective decompressing for her family, including her kids and parents. “It’s nice to be able to sort of shut off your brain from the day-to-day of work and get lost in an adventure in a game,” Alba explains. “I just think it’s really fun.”
The immersive physical nature of these motion-focused games—Alba names Nintendo Switch games Just Dance 2022 and Mario Golf: Super Rush as family favorites—also helps everybody get into their bodies. Engaging both physically and mentally makes it easier to be in the moment with each other—especially compared to other forms of screen time. “I feel like I’m not distracted with email and text messages while I’m playing. And same with my kids and my husband,” Alba explains. “It allows us to all focus on that and be present playing a game together.”
Not to mention, Alba adds, gaming lets them get in a little more exercise and crack each other up (two effective forms of stress relief). Alba says that in her home, the ultimate indicator that the family is clocking true quality time together is the amount of laughter in the room. “We laugh a lot,” Alba says. “For me, that’s always the litmus test on if we should continue to do something or not.”
Related:
