Everything the singer said about parenting

Despite a successful music career, Trent Reznor’s greatest accomplishment is raising five children with his wife MaryQueen Mandig.

Reznor and Maandig married in October 2009. Between 2010 and 2019, they had two children, sons Lazarus Echo and Balthazar Ven, and daughter Nova Lux, whose names and genders are kept private.

During an appearance on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast in June 2023, the Nine Inch Nails frontman said becoming a father was “the best thing that ever happened to me.” Since becoming a parent, Reznor’s relationship with music production has also changed significantly.

“(Fatherhood) fundamentally shaped every part of who I am and why I do what I do,” he said.

Here’s everything you need to know about Trent Reznor’s five children.

He and Mandig have five children.

Reznor and Mandig kept their first meeting a secret. “I tell people[we]met at Mensa gatherings that we met because of these unusual circumstances,” Mahndig told Women’s Wear Daily in July 2010.

According to the media, the two got engaged in the spring of 2009 and married in October of the same year. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Lazarus Echo, in 2010.

As for being a first-time parent, Mahndig joked to Women’s Wear Daily that deciding on a name for Lazarus has been her biggest hurdle so far. “I have a list, but it’s very hard. It’s like a new life has started and I’m in charge of it. Let’s go!” she told the magazine before his birth.

Since then, the couple has had four more children. They have a son, Balthazar Ven, a daughter, Nova Lux, and two other children whose names and genders have not been released.

Reznor spoke about the birth of his youngest son while discussing his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. “I was just born over the weekend,” he told Rolling Stone at the time. “There’s a lot of action here.”

Reznor said his music takes on new meaning as a father.

Some of Nine Inch Nails frontman Reznor’s lyrics may not be appropriate for children. But now that her children are old enough to listen and have access to the Internet, Reznor is more aware of how her children, and their fellow parents, perceive them.

“Right now, I’m busy with adult events, school events with other parents. I just…I don’t really think about how the lyrics that seemed cool at the time will be received by parents at my kids’ schools 20 years from now,” he told Vulture in a July 2017 interview, referring to his 1994 hit “Closer,” which featured several sexual innuendos.

Reznor once said having children was a “humbling” experience

Reznor has said for years that he didn’t realize how much his life would change once he had a child. Speaking to Spin in September 2013, he recalled some “humble” moments, including when his son summed up his job as “going out to play loud music.”

“When I was 25, people used to tell me that having kids will change you. I used to roll my eyes,” he said. “I don’t know what would happen if they read my old stories about my addiction or heard my old songs. I know I was worried they’d catch me swearing in front of them in a road rage moment and they’d parrot it back.”

He added: “Having children is humbling…I’m not as afraid of judgment as I used to be. I just want to do the best I can.”

family is his top priority

For nearly 40 years, Reznor has spent much of his life on the streets. But now the father of five is taking a break from touring to focus more on his family. In a 2023 appearance on the Tetragrammaton podcast with Rick Rubin, Reznor revealed that he was putting touring on the back burner.

“I don’t want to be away from my kids, but not that much,” he said. “I don’t want to miss their lives to do something that I’m grateful to be able to do. And I’m grateful that you’re here to see it. But I’ve done a lot of it, you know?”

He added, “I want to feel okay and I want to make sure my family is okay, and that’s great. It’s okay.”

he keeps his children out of the spotlight

Reznor and Mandig are a famously private couple, especially when it comes to their family life. They rarely talk about them in the press or share their photos on social media.

Mahndig, who is also a successful musician, said in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily that she likes to keep her personal life “shrouded in mystery.”