Bold take: parenting choices aren’t one-size-fits-all, and personal health should drive the conversation, not stigma. Here’s a fresh, clear rewrite that preserves all key details and context while expanding a bit for clarity.
Pete Davidson’s girlfriend explains her controversial call not to breastfeed
Model Elsie Hewitt, who has been dating Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, shares the reasoning behind choosing not to breastfeed their baby. Her decision, a personal one, is often met with judgment, scrutiny, and even hostility, and Hewitt speaks frankly about this public friction.
Davidson, 32, and Hewitt, 29, welcomed their daughter, Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson, on December 12, 2025.
In an essay for Elle magazine titled “My Decision Not to Breastfeed,” Hewitt opens up about how the pregnancy came with significant challenges and was not planned. The couple’s relationship had only been public since March 2025, roughly a year after they began dating, and during this period Hewitt received a life-changing diagnosis.
“I lived through years of chronic pain, dismissal, and misunderstanding that was finally diagnosed as stage 4 endometriosis,” Hewitt writes. Endometriosis is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, often causing severe pain, heavy or irregular periods, and sometimes ovarian cysts.
Her pregnancy occurred soon after she underwent laparoscopic excision surgery. She describes looking forward to a time when her body felt like her own again—free from constant pain and the need to advocate for herself—but pregnancy disrupted that sense of normalcy. “For the most part, I hated being pregnant,” she says, detailing discomfort, sickness, fatigue, and pain.
Hewitt notes that breastfeeding is commonly labeled the “gold standard,” while formula feeding is sometimes portrayed as a lesser option. She recalls a pervasive sense of quiet shame around choosing formula, acknowledging that guilt can accompany any feeding choice—even when formula is safe, healthy, and nutritionally complete.
When it came time to decide how to feed her baby, Hewitt weighed her mental health, her recovery, and the type of mother she wanted to be. She wanted to share feeding responsibilities with Davidson rather than rely solely on herself.
After Scottie’s arrival, Hewitt explains that she did not want to be the sole source of nourishment in a way that would hinder her recovery or leave little room for her partner to participate. She emphasizes that her goal was to balance feeding responsibilities between both parents.
Although she had planned to formula feed before birth, she notes that a new postpartum diagnosis altered the dynamics of the situation. She developed mastitis almost immediately after birth, making it impossible to express milk despite attempts to do so.
Mastitis is the inflammation of breast tissue that can cause swelling, pain, redness, and sometimes infection, often occurring postpartum. Hewitt was prescribed antibiotics to treat it. She describes days of icing her breasts and watching her body produce milk she could not give to her baby, which led to mixed emotions and a sense of conflict.
She explains that she had already decided not to breastfeed, yet her body produced milk, forcing her to grieve an experience she chose not to have.
Despite the physical and emotional strain of pregnancy and the early postpartum period, Hewitt says she feels fortunate that no one, including Davidson, pressured her to breastfeed. Her central message is that feeding decisions should prioritize the baby’s well-being while respecting the mother’s health and autonomy, recognizing that every family’s situation is unique.
She argues that feeding choices deserve nuance and without a moral hierarchy, asserting that formula feeding can be the right choice for some families.
A nourished baby and a mentally healthy mother can coexist. If opting not to breastfeed helps a mother access the support she needs during a difficult postpartum season, she deserves to make that choice without second-guessing.
Hewitt closes with a personal reminder: you don’t have to sacrifice your own well-being to prove your love. Her story invites readers to consider their own beliefs about feeding, support, and maternal health—and to discuss them openly in the comments with curiosity and respect, recognizing that controversy and differing opinions often accompany these deeply personal decisions.
