Celebrity Parents Who Became Empty Nesters This Year and What They've Said About It: 'And Now I’m Crying'

As the school year begins to kick off, these celebrity parents are grappling with their newfound status as "empty nesters"

Letting go can be hard — just ask these celebrity parents!

As parents everywhere gear up to say goodbye to their not-so-little ones as they drop them off to college, many are doing so for the last time meaning they have officially reached "empty nester" status. From Jessica Seinfeld's sweet message to fellow college parents to Brooke Shields admitting she's "not ready" for the change, to Terry Crews adjusting to his much quieter home, see what these famous faces have shared about this new stage of parenthood.

Terry Crews

Father of five Terry Crews admitted not having his kids home is an adjustment.

The America's Got Talent host opened up about his experience being an empty nester while on CBS' The Talk on Sept. 9.

"All the kids left. It's too damn quiet," he joked. "I'm used to things breaking, people fighting... I wake up and it's quiet. I go down and I'm like, 'No one's here... I'm all by myself, like man, what am I doing now?'"

Crews and his wife Rebecca King-Crews share children Naomi, 36, Azriél, 33, Tera, 26, Winnie, 21, and Isaiah, 19.

Ed Burns

Ed Burns is coping by keeping busy.

The actor, who shares two kids — daughter Grace, 20 and son Finn, 18 — with wife Christy Turlington recently sent both kids off to college.

"Yeah, we're empty. My kids are in college. They're out of the house. We're three weeks into it. It's fresh," he told PEOPLE while at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"I'm glad that we're both pretty busy this fall, so we've done that film. She's got a big charity called Every Mother Counts, so she's got a couple of trips planned around fundraising for that, and things like that," he explained. "We'll have to deal with it, I think, in earnest in February."

Katie Holmes

Giving a rare look into her personal life, Katie Holmes opened up about how she's feeling now that her daughter Suri is heading off for her first year of college.

"I’m proud of my daughter," Holmes told Town & Country. "Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I’m really proud of her and I’m happy."

"I remember being this age, this time of beginnings," she added. "It’s exciting to learn about yourself, and I loved that time, so it makes me happy to think about it like that."

Jessica Seinfeld

As parents of three, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld are having to settle into the brand-new role of empty nesters after dropping off their youngest, Shepherd Kellen, for college.

Along with a carousel of photos — including one of Jerry doing a very dad-coded final dorm room inspection — Jessica shared a sweet message to the fellow college parents out there.

"Move-in weekend. All 3 baby birds have flown," she wrote. "Hope all of you first timers or last timers are holding up. #classof2028"

Guy Fieri

Flavortown is now missing one key resident: Guy Fieri's youngest son Ryder, who moved into his dorm with help from Fieri and his wife Lori.

"It hasn’t fully hit us yet, but not seeing him everyday is gonna be hard," Fieri captioned a carousel from move-in day.

Debi Mazar

Debi Mazar is celebrating some major milestones this year. In addition to turning 60, the mom of two is also gearing up to send her youngest daughter off to university.

“At my age, I'm about to be an empty nester," Mazar, who shares daughters Evelina and Giulia with husband Gabriele Corcos, told PEOPLE earlier this summer. "And I'm going into a period where I've spent the past 23 years being on top of my children, and now I have more freedom to go work and not feel guilty."

She added, “I have more freedom to walk around in the house naked or have sex whenever I feel like it!”

Brooke Shields

As the 2024 school year came to an end, Brooke Shields said she was "not ready," for her youngest daughter, Grier, leaving home for college following her graduation from high school.

"I thought I would be relieved, but I don't know," Shields, who shares daughters Grier and Rowan with husband Chris Henchy, told PEOPLE in May. "I'll see when I get there ... the thought of no longer living 24/7 in the house with these people that I've raised, it's just very foreign. It's like going to a totally foreign territory."

She posted a funny video to Instagram that showed her sprinting for the exit after dropping Grier off.

Sunny Hostin

Sunny Hostin took on the role of empty nester this year after dropping her youngest child, Paloma, off at Cornell University. The View co-host shared a carousel of photos from the weekend to Instagram that included a look at her daughter's dorm room and a few teary-eyed snapshots.

"I've been a little absent from social media trying to wrap my brain around being an empty nester and letting the birds fly," Hostin, who shares Paloma and son Gabriel with husband Emmanuel Hostin, wrote. "But I'm so proud of Paloma and her brother. GOOD people who will do great things in this world. I will miss seeing them every day tho."

Cameron Mathison

As the summer comes to a close, Cameron Mathison is soaking up the "last few days" with his kids before they both head to college.

Along with a carousel of photos — including one showing off the trio's new matching ink — Mathison shared that his two kids, Lelia and Lucas, would be "off to Europe for college (Paris and London)."

The All My Children actor, who shares his two kids with ex-wife Vanessa, previously told PEOPLE that the prospect of becoming an empty nester was "tough" as his daughter geared up to join her brother overseas.

“It's the best thing in the world,” he added. “But at the same time, I don't think I'm ready. I mean, you think you are. You're like, ‘Oh, it's going to be awesome,' but I'm going to miss them.”

Gwyneth Paltrow

Back in 2023, while her son Moses was still a high school junior, Gwyneth Paltrow told James Corden she was feeling "not very well" about her "impending empty nest."

At the time, her daughter Apple had already fled the coop to college, which Paltrow called "a huge change."

The Goop founder previously told PEOPLE that sending her eldest off to college the first time was "horrible."

"It was truly horrifying," she said. "I was sick to my stomach, bursting into tears."

In May 2024, Paltrow and her ex-husband Chris Martin gathered to celebrate Moses' high school graduation — signaling her "impending" empty nesting is coming up soon.

Ali Wentworth

Ahead of the new school year, Ali Wentworth shared how she and her husband George Stephanopolous were adjusting to being empty nesters as both daughters are now college students.

“We were traumatized at first, and now it's kind of fun,” Wentworth, who is mom to Harper Andrea Stephanopoulos and Elliott Anastasia Stephanopoulos, told PEOPLE in April 2024.

“We're young and in love again,” she continued. “We got married, I got pregnant after nine months. So we've never just been a married couple with no kids. So we're loving it.”

In August, Wentworth shared a glimpse of her family's move-in day with a picture of the mom-of-two — with a mallet in hand — appearing to bang on a bed in a dorm room.

"Who doesn’t love college move-in day? No air-conditioning. Need a degree in engineering to assemble anything," she wrote. "Who needs a shower caddy? And now I’m crying cause I already miss her…."

LL Cool J

Back in February, LL Cool J shared how he felt now that all four of his kids had left home. His youngest daughter, Nina, was the most recent to leave following her graduation from college.

"My life isn't defined by the fact that my kids graduated college, which I'm very happy for them," he told PEOPLE of the moment. "They have to go after their dreams, and I have to continue to go after mine and make sure that I'm fulfilling my purpose on this planet."

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