The Moment
Emma Roberts just dropped a little Christmas surprise on Instagram: a rare, very cute peek at her 4-year-old son, Rhodes, during a snowy holiday getaway.
In photos shared on Christmas Eve, the actress is bundled up in a puffy jacket and a floral beanie, cuddled up with her mini-me in the snow, both of them grinning like they actually enjoy being cold. According to a December 2025 entertainment report on her holiday posts, the hat is Ellington & French’s Leelu style, which retails for about $92, because even your snow gear has to have a pedigree now.
She captioned the moment simply, “Merry merry! “ and later added an Instagram Story showing Rhodes on her lap, surrounded by classic cozy decor: tree, stockings, the whole Hallmark scene.
Roberts, 34, shares Rhodes with ex-boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 41. The pair started dating in 2019 and reportedly split in 2022. In a 2022 interview, Hedlund called their son his “best friend” and talked about how much joy he gets from time with him.
These days, Roberts is engaged to actor Cody John, who proposed in July 2024. She announced that news with another very online move: a ring reveal photo and the caption, “Putting this here before my mom tells everyone .”
And in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar Spain published in late 2025, she said motherhood has given her “so much depth” emotionally and professionally, adding that seeing the world through Rhodes’ eyes “transforms your perspective.”
So yes, it’s a snow pic. It’s also a whole statement about how celebrity parents are playing the game right now.
The Take
I have to say: the photos are adorable. It’s giving “Pinterest board come to life” in the best way-just a mom and her kid in the snow. But the key word everywhere this was covered? Rare.
We’ve reached the era where a single photo of a celebrity child feels like a mini press tour, because we know it almost never happens. Roberts doesn’t flood the internet with her son, and that’s not an accident.
She’s a third-generation Hollywood kid-daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts-who grew up watching what public oversharing can do to a family name. So when she posts Rhodes, it feels intentional: a controlled window, not an open door.
What I see in these snowy snaps is a very modern balancing act. On one side: privacy. On the other: a public who wants their celebrities “relatable,” preferably in a cute hat, with a child in tow. It’s like trying to have a quiet family dinner in the middle of Times Square-while also selling the cookbook.
Roberts has built a cozy, slightly bookish, stylish-online-mom persona in recent years. The $92 floral beanie, the caption that’s more feeling than overshare, the holiday backdrop-it fits perfectly. But she still keeps Rhodes mostly out of frame, and when he’s in it, it’s gentle, not performative. No tagging brands, no turning him into content with a capital C.
There’s also the co-parenting piece. Hedlund has publicly called Rhodes his “best friend,” which tells you both parents are emotionally invested in this little boy having as normal a childhood as possible-even while his mom posts the occasional snow-globe moment for 20 million strangers.
To me, Roberts is quietly choosing the middle lane: she’s not full “no-face, no-name” like some celeb parents, and she’s not running a family channel. She’s sprinkling out a few images of motherhood that feel sincere, aligned with her brand, and-crucially-limited.
And if you zoom out, it says something bigger about where we are with celebrity culture. We used to demand red carpets and magazine covers with the baby’s first everything. Now, a single candid in the snow is enough to have everyone talking. That’s not just about cuteness; it’s about boundaries finally becoming part of the story.
Receipts
Confirmed
- Emma Roberts posted a photo with her 4-year-old son Rhodes on Instagram on Christmas Eve during a snowy getaway, captioned “Merry merry! ,” as described in a December 2025 entertainment report on her holiday posts.
- The report notes she wore Ellington & French’s Leelu hat, which retails for around $92, along with winter outerwear.
- Roberts shared additional Instagram Story content showing Rhodes on her lap amid Christmas decor including a tree and stockings, per the same report.
- Roberts, 34, shares Rhodes with ex-boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 41; they were first linked in 2019 and had reportedly split by 2022.
- In a 2022 on-the-record interview, Hedlund referred to Rhodes as his “best friend,” saying, “I’ve got a best friend for life with this little man… We just have the greatest time.”
- Roberts has been in a relationship with actor Cody John since 2022; she publicly announced their engagement in July 2024 with a photo showing her engagement ring and the caption, “Putting this here before my mom tells everyone .”
- In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar Spain published in late 2025, Roberts said motherhood has given her “so much depth” emotionally and professionally and that seeing life through her son’s eyes “transforms your perspective” and inspires her work.
Unverified / Opinion
- Any suggested “strategy” behind how often Roberts posts Rhodes is interpretation, not something she has laid out as an explicit media plan.
- My take that she’s carefully walking a line between privacy and public persona is analysis based on her limited posting, not a direct quote.
- Speculation about how she and Hedlund navigate co-parenting day-to-day goes beyond what they’ve chosen to share publicly.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you know Roberts mainly as “Julia Roberts’ niece,” here’s the quick refresher. Emma broke out as a teen on Unfabulous, then moved into films and later became a fixture in darker TV hits like American Horror Story and the horror-comedy Scream Queens. She and actor Garrett Hedlund were first linked in 2019, welcomed Rhodes in late 2020, and reportedly split in 2022. Since 2022 she’s been with actor Cody John, and the two got engaged in summer 2024. In recent years, Roberts has leaned into a stylish, bookish, slightly indie-mom image-promoting projects, fashion, and occasionally speaking thoughtfully about motherhood-while keeping her son mostly offline.
What’s Next
Don’t expect a sudden flood of Rhodes photos just because we got one snowy carousel. If anything, this kind of “rare glimpse” feels like the template Roberts is most comfortable with: low-key, seasonal, and clearly more about the feeling than the flex.
Professionally, that Harper’s Bazaar Spain interview hinting that motherhood inspires her work is the part to watch. When actors say parenthood has changed their perspective, it usually shows up in the roles they pick next-often more nuanced, emotionally grounded, or simply more selective.
On the personal side, there’s the still-fairly-new engagement to Cody John. As they move toward marriage, we may see more curated family moments: a wedding photo here, a holiday group shot there, but likely still with tight control around how much of Rhodes’ life goes public.
In other words, expect more of this middle path: a few carefully chosen windows into her life as a mom, just enough for fans to feel connected, not enough for the internet to feel entitled.
And honestly, if the future of celebrity parenting is “one sweet snow day, then back behind the curtain,” that might be the healthiest plot twist Hollywood has given us in a while.
What about you: do you think celebs should post their kids occasionally with clear boundaries, or keep them completely offline until they’re old enough to choose?
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