The couple, who tied the knot in 2006, share two sons together
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/ryan-michelle-bathe-031326-1a9259a418a14f6cbfd01bc3ee7b710a.jpg "Ryan Michelle Bathe attends the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards on March 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.")
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NEED TO KNOW
- Ryan Michelle Bathé is sharing her thoughts on posting her two sons on social media
- Following her husband Sterling K. Brown’s comments about posting their sons on social media, the First Wives Club actress tells PEOPLE she thinks his thoughts were “really smart,” admitting she still goes “back and forth” on whether she wants to post them
- The couple are proud parents of sons Amaré and Andrew
Ryan Michelle Bathé is sharing her thoughts on posting her boys on social media.
Following her husband Sterling K. Brown's comments about posting their sons online during an episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the First Wives Club actress, 49, spoke with PEOPLE at the 2026 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards, sharing her thoughts on the topic. Bathé admits that she thought the Paradise star's take on posting their boys, Amaré, 10, and Andrew, 14, was "really smart," adding she still goes "back and forth" on whether she wants to post them.
"When he said that, I was like, 'Wow, that's really smart,' " she says. "I go back and forth with the social media of it all, but to hear him explain it that way, I was like, 'You know what? That's really smart, Sterling.' As big a city as L.A. is, it's small enough that he's got a point that somebody might see something and say, 'Oh, you know what? That one, not that one.' Or treat him differently than they would."
"There are no guarantees," the boy mom adds. "I think as parents, especially Black parents [and] Black parents of Black boys, we are scraping for any little thing we can to protect our children, but it's like flint. We don't have the privilege in protecting our children. So, we do the best that we can in any given moment to make sure our kids, our boys, make it home."
The doting mom tells PEOPLE that she has "all the conversations" with her boys to protect them as they grow and develop in the world, sharing one of the most important lessons she makes sure to instill in her children.
"I tell them, 'If you don't do anything else, make sure you honor and protect the Black women around you.' I tell them all the time, 'You don't necessarily have to date a Black woman, … but you stand in that gap for that Black girl. You be friends with those Black girls,' " she shares.
"You be their friend. You be their brother. You make sure that if you see them being mistreated, that you stand up and you can be a witness for them because they're going to need a witness. Take it from somebody who knows," the mom of two adds. "And that protection that you give them, you will also be protected."
Back in February, Brown, 49, posed a question to Dax Shepard during the Monday, Feb. 23 episode of his podcast about his reasoning for keeping his two daughters — Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 11 — off of social media and out of the spotlight. The doting dad, 51, who shares his daughters with wife Kristen Bell, replied that his top priority is "safety," adding that he wants to allow them to also "be anonymous and make mistakes."
After hearing Shepard's response, Brown agreed, sharing that prioritizing the safety of his two boys is exactly why he makes the decision to share pictures of them on social media.
"Your children are obviously White. My children are Black. I feel like the more I put them on social, the safer they are," he said. "Any proximity that Black boys can have to some sort of celebrity or access or … status [or] leverage. I'm trying to make sure that they make it home."
Credit: VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty
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He also opened up about his no photo policy when he's outside spending time with his family.
"If I am out with Ryan and the boys, we have a policy of no pictures. And the policy is because they deserve to have a regular night out. It's their time," he shared. "Because Ry and I have a certain amount of spotlight or whatnot, doesn't mean that they should receive less of us."
