‘With my mom, everything was about me’: Brian Austin Green regrets his partners who were ‘complete opposite’ of his mother

Brian Austin Green has appeared in a few comedies, wherein he often shows off a slightly sardonic comedic timing. It’s not that Green can land a good joke — it’s that he can sell a goofy premise. And he was recently in good form on his podcast Old-ish, where he told listeners that one of his biggest dating missteps has been consistently seeking women who are the complete opposite of his mother.

Now, someone reminding you of a parent you admire isn’t necessarily a red flag — but going for the opposite doesn’t automatically mean trouble either. Still, according to Green, his former relationship with Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Vanessa Marcil — with whom he shares a son — was toxic precisely because it lacked the warmth and care he associates with his mother. He described the relationship as neither loving nor supportive. The two broke up in 2003 and, judging by the way things have gone since, haven’t exactly been on a path to healing. But Green’s expectations also don’t sound healthy, as he ruminated on how in his relationship with his mother, “everything was about me” – which was not the dynamic of his romantic relationships.

Green has alleged that Marcil kept him away from his son and fed the child damaging lies. On Old-ish, he claimed his absence wasn’t by choice but due to a serious case of vertigo — the kind that makes walking, talking, and co-parenting physically impossible. During this time, he says, Marcil showed no empathy and made zero effort to bridge the gap. 

Marcil, meanwhile, has publicly shared her side — that she raised their son alone. What started as a private rift has now evolved into a full-blown public saga involving podcasts, cryptic Instagram posts, and mutual digs. Green, for example, responded to her latest comments by accusing her of spreading “continued lies from a 50-year-old woman on social media like she’s still in high school.” Which is a bold thing to say on a podcast named Old-ish. Green, as previously noted, would likely prefer that Marcil handled things like his mother.

Fortunately, things are sunnier on the Megan Fox front. Per Page Six Green described his co-parenting relationship with Fox as “a breath of fresh air,” even comparing the transition from Marcil to Fox to “coming out of Vietnam.” Which is… certainly a metaphor. To his credit, Green remains consistently complimentary — even protective — of Fox, and he’s never been shy about saying so.

He’s now reportedly raising his 5th child with Dancing With the Stars co-star Sharna Burgess. No word yet on what geopolitical conflict this latest transition might resemble — maybe the Cold War? We’ll have to tune into the next episode of Old-ish for clarification.

Vertigo sounds excruciating, and Green described the recovery process as one that required relearning how to walk and talk — and nobody would downplay that. But turning your family drama into podcast content isn’t exactly a healing strategy recommended by therapists. Green was quick to call Marcil immature for venting on social media, but is plugging your grievances on a podcast really all that different?

At the end of the day, some squabbles are best handled behind closed doors. Or, at the very least, behind a paywall.