Felicity Huffman opened up about parenting in an interview released Wednesday that comes as she awaits her sentencing in the college admissions scandal.
"You know motherhood, I think more than fatherhood, is one of those jobs that if you do well you work yourself right out of a job," Huffman, 56, told Entertainment Tonight. "Because they don't need you anymore — and they shouldn't."
The actress, who shares daughters 17-year-old Georgia and 19-year-old Sophia with husband William H. Macy, explained, "If you do it badly and you've damaged your kids enough they're going to need you your whole life."
The interview was reportedly conducted shortly before Huffman's arrest in the college admissions scandal in March.
In May, the former "Desperate Housewives" star pleaded guilty to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter's answers on the SAT. She reportedly considered the same for her younger daughter but decided against it.
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The assistant U.S. attorney recommended four months of prison time for the actress; prosecutors also recommended a $20,000 fine as well as 12 months of supervised release for the charge, which is a felony.
Huffman's former "Desperate Housewives" co-star Eva Longoria revealed she's fully in her pal's corner.
"I think she has a heart that is bigger than the sun and that's the Felicity I know and that's the woman I choose to support and love," Longoria told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday. "She was humbled by what happened and I think she did handle it with as much grace as she could in that situation."
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Huffman told Fox News in a statement in April, "I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney's Office. I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions."
She continued, "I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly."
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"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her," Huffman concluded. "This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty."
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Huffman's "Otherhood" co-star Patricia Arquette previously praised her handling of the scandal.
"Well, I left her a message because I do think she's -- I mean, I haven't spoken to her, but I feel that she's sincerely truly sorry and feels she made a humongous mistake," Arquette told Entertainment Tonight in July. "I think she dealt with it the best way that you can deal with it, but I know she's probably carrying a lot of shame and guilt and all that stuff."
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"That’s all I can really do, is just leave her a message and say, 'You know, I think you handled it the best you could've and I know you feel terrible about this,'" she continued. "We're thinking about you."
Fox News' Mariah Haas and Jessica Napoli contributed to this report.
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