Eileen Davidson Opens up About Her Blended Family: “You Have to Put the Kids First” (EXCLUSIVE)

TV star Eileen Davidson likes to keep things interesting. In the 36 years since she made her debut as Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless, she's jumped to other top soaps (Santa Barbara, The Bold and the Beautiful, and a long Days of Our Lives run), written three novels, and been a 2014 through 2017 regular on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In an exclusive new interview with Closer Weekly, she opens up about her most important role: mom.

Eileen is married to actor-writer Vincent Van Patten, 60. They have a son, Jesse, and she's stepmom to Vincent's sons, Duke, 25, and Vince Jr., 22. "I really worked at having his kids get to know me," Eileen tells Closer. "We made the house fun, and I'm not against bribery!" she jokes, but adds, "a main lesson for everybody is: Just be who you are and take chances. With kids that is the thing I am always saying."

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"We met on Y&R," Eileen tells Closer of meeting Vince. "I wanted to get pregnant right away because I was 41, which was a main factor. And honestly, if you ever hear about people who are supposed to be together, that's just us."

"Vince said, 'I have two kids and it's a package deal.' Blended families aren't easy — you have to put the kids first, and we're all people with feelings and desires and needs. His ex-wife and I have acknowledged that we are each other's teachers, and we've put the kids first 99.99 percent of the time," she adds. "Getting pregnant so late was a blessing, in that I had a lot of nieces and nephews and knew how fleeting it is."

Eileen tells Closer, "When Jesse would be mad at his brother, I'd say, 'One day they're not going to be here.' Now that the boys have left, he's so sad: 'Mom, it's like crickets here.'"

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For more on Eileen Davidson, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now — and be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more exclusive news!