Pamela Anderson Reveals Her Upcoming Cookbook Began as a Labor of Love for Her Sons Brandon & Dylan

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Pamela Anderson has been on an inspiring journey of reclaiming her identity, and the past few years have seen her embrace a public renaissance with her sons steadfastly by her side. From her tell-all memoir and Netflix documentary to the skincare brand she founded with her kids, Anderson has been revealing the multi-faceted layers of her being that were buried under the “cartoon character” image she was associated with for decades. The next step of her metamorphosis is the release of her upcoming cookbook, I Love You: Recipes from the Heart, this October — and it, too, is deeply connected to her close relationship with her sons.

In a cover story interview for Better Homes & Gardens, Anderson revealed her latest project began as a present for 28-year-old Brandon and 26-year-old Dylan, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee. “The cookbook started out as a housewarming gift for my sons,” she said — but the labor of love has more ties to her family than just the two young men.

“I remember my mom used to have these recipe cards in a box,” Anderson shared. “I decided I had to find the ultimate recipe card box. I found one and started printing out these cards of all our family recipes — but I made them plant-based,” the Baywatch alum explained. “I’ve taken a lot of my family recipes that come from my parents’ Northern and Eastern European backgrounds. A lot of probiotics and cabbage rolls and soups and pickled things. These are things I love; these are my comfort foods,” she said.

So how did the recipe box become a cookbook? Anderson explained, “The box was for the boys, who had just bought a house together, and their girlfriends, all four of them. Of course, my son Brandon, being the businessman, said, ‘This is a book, Mom.’ And so we did it and titled the book I Love You since that was engraved on the recipe box,” she shared.

The former model admitted she was anxious to create a cookbook since it was something she’d never done before and didn’t exactly align with her public image. Anderson explained, “People have this pneumatic kind of image of me from Playboy to Baywatch, to my rock ‘n’ roll type of husbands, to everything else. And as much as I threw every dinner party and cooked all those meals for family and my kids, it wasn’t what was seen publicly.”

“But I’ve always been into being a homemaker too,” she continued. “All the kids were always at our house. I cooked for everybody, pots of spaghetti for the neighborhood, and so my kids have always seen that part of me. And it hurt them to think that those other things are the only things people think of their mom,” Anderson added. “‘Yes, she’s been in Playboy. Yes, she’s done all these things, but we know who she is. It’s different now.'”

The actress revealed that her sons are not only perceptive about who she really is, but also her biggest supporters in reclaiming her identity in the public eye. “My kids are old enough now to understand the big picture,” Anderson said. “They look at me and say, ‘Mom, this is your time.'”

“Of course, over the years, as they learned about things in my past, both age-appropriate and not age-appropriate, unfortunately, they thought I was taken advantage of in some ways,” she shared. “They told me, ‘Whatever you’ve created by being you, just keep being you. We’re going to try and find ways for you to keep doing what you love but also sharing it with people in a way where it benefits you too. You can create a life. You can keep writing. You can keep doing all the things you love.'”

Ever the proud mom, Anderson added, “My sons are young, bold, hardworking men. They’re ambitious, they’re talented, they’re creative, they’re gentlemen, and they’re good cooks.” Their relationship sounds truly wonderful, and Anderson seems to have raised two fantastic men — we’re feeling a little misty-eyed over here.

Anderson spoke further about how her career has rebloomed thanks to her sons’ investment in her happiness. “I have a lot of freedom now and I owe a lot of it to my kids,” she said. “You don’t have kids and expect that they are going to grow up to create businesses with you. They have their own lives, their own things that they do. This is just kind of like a hobby for them—Mom’s become a hobby,” Anderson joked.

Though they’ve become trusted advisors for her various career pursuits as “a hobby,” Anderson added that their skincare brand, Sonsie, is an endeavor Brandon and Dylan take very seriously. “Sonsie is their own brand and it’s a lot of work for them to run it,” the proud mama asserted.

With her two supportive sons by her side, we have no doubt Anderson will continue to flourish as she should have always been able to. In addition to I Love You: Recipes from the Heart being available for preorder ahead of its release this October, the actress has a movie in the works with Liam Neeson, and the family skincare line is growing. We can’t wait to see where Anderson’s renaissance will take her next, and we’re thrilled she’s letting us in on the journey.

Before you go, check out these celebrity mothers who love being boy moms.