Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel aren't being private for the sake of being private.
As the "Cry Me a River" singer explained to Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast, he and his wife have retreated from the public eye to ensure that their two sons, Silas, 5, and Phineas, who was born last year, have as normal a childhood as possible.
"I try to be conscious of making sure we can live a life where we're not weirdly private but we're conscious of making sure they can be kids for as long as possible," Justin shared. "And not have the weight of somebody else treating them differently because of something that their parents do."
The 39-year-old Tennessee native adds that he worries his children will not be able to form true friendships because of his and Jessica's line of work. As he puts it, "It's a lot to unpack."
Dax, who shares daughters Delta, 6, and Lincoln, 7, with actress Kristen Bell, agreed, admitting, "I have that great fear that kids are going to hang out with them solely because of that or resent them because of that."
Dax recalled an instance when he had to explain he and his wife's fame to their daughter, saying that she couldn't tell the other kids her mom is Princess Anna from Disney's Frozen franchise. He said he told her, "I know you're proud and you should be able to say that, but I'm just warning you, that'll probably make other kids jealous and they won't know how to handle that feeling."
Justin can relate to this, too, having played Branch in the animated movie Trolls. He laughs, "Yeah, we have this same thing where like the kids at school with my five year old are like, 'Your dad is Branch."
"For guys like us, you know, the hope is that we just keep instilling in them that we got really fun jobs, but it's not who we are, " Justin continues. "Hopefully down the road, then that has more weight to it I guess."
But Dax remarked that it's going to be a struggle for their children no matter what, because even their best attempts to raise them as normal kids won't diminish the privilege they'll experience. He said, "They'll have this weird challenge of being privileged, which seems bizarre that that's a challenge but that'll be their thing."
Both Dax and Justin confessed that they've struggled with privilege too, with the singer sharing that he's "become skilled in the art of self-deprecation."
Justin says that he often makes fun of himself because it makes others laugh, especially on shows like Saturday Night Live, but knows it can come off as "false humility."
Dax, who's experienced this too, explained that at a certain point his self-deprecation "developed into this pattern as well where it's like, I feel guilty that I have great s--t. And so everything I get that's good, I add this layer of why it sucks to everyone."
But Justin's trying avoid making jokes at his own expense because he's just "shaming himself" over achievements that he's actually proud of.
All things considered, Justin and Jessica are probably one of the least flashy celebrities couples.
A source previously told E! News that the family maintains a quiet life in Montana. "It's been a great break for them, with a lot of family time and adjusting to life with two kids," the insider shared. "Justin and Jessica have their hands full with the kids, but they are both super active and love to golf, play tennis, hike and snowboard."
Of course, they still have their high-profile moments, with Justin recently performing at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration of President Joe Biden, which, if you ask us, he has every right to brag about.