Melissa Joan Hart says the biggest lessons of her life didn’t come from Hollywood — they came from growing up as the oldest of eight kids. That responsibility shaped her long before fame ever did. And it followed her straight into the biggest moral crossroads of her career.
On the Sibling Revelry podcast, Hart opened up about turning down Playboy at the height of her ’90s stardom. It wasn’t fear or shame driving her decision. It was loyalty to her family and the pressure she felt to protect them.
Hart remembered how rough things got after she posed for Maxim. Her brother and father were “tortured” by people who mocked them, and she said she didn’t want to put them through anything worse. “I didn’t want to do anything that would embarrass them or hurt them,” she said.
So when Playboy came calling with a massive offer, she didn’t even think twice. “I was like, ‘I can’t do it,’” Hart said. She added, “I can’t do it because I don’t want my brother to be hurt by that… He’s already getting tortured by me in underwear, let alone completely.”
Even though she felt confident in her body, the emotional price wasn’t worth it. And now, as a mom, she’s even more grateful for that decision. “I’m really glad I didn’t because now I have three boys and I don’t need those images out there for them,” she said.
Hart said she always sensed the choice would matter later in life. Saying no back then wasn’t just for her brother — it was for the family she didn’t even have yet. “I’m kind of happy I made that choice for my brother, which then also translates to my children,” she said.
She married musician Mark Wilkerson in 2003, and together they have three sons: Mason, Braydon, and Tucker. Becoming a mom only confirmed what she already believed — that boundaries set early protect the life you want later.
Hart says her parents shaped a lot of those instincts. She joked that they were “hippie parents who were growing their own pot in the garden,” but they were honest with her about everything. Her mother even told her, “I did all the drugs. You don’t have to. They’re not worth it.”
Now, as a working mother of three, the pressures haven’t gone away. She told Fox News Digital that “mom guilt” still hits her hard, even with a career that gives her more flexibility than most. “Mom guilt… parent guilt… is real across the board,” she said.
Still, Hart tries to hold onto the good moments. She loves school drop-offs, birthdays, holidays, and milestones. She makes space for work, and then she makes space for home. “It’s this weird balance… you’re never sure if you’re getting it right,” she said. “But I think that’s just parenthood.”