The ‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary says to get married sooner, have more kids — and forget about the costs

Kevin O’Leary wishes he’d been a young parent.

Don’t wait too long to have children or you might regret it, Kevin O’Leary said.

“I wish I’d had my kids 10 years earlier,” the “Shark Tank” star said in a Fox Business clip shared on his social media over the weekend. “Family is everything; that’s what it’s all about.”

“I waited until I was 36 before I even got married — that was a mistake, and I realize it now. And I love my kids. But, boy, I wish I had more time with them at a younger age,” he added.

The O’Leary Ventures chairman, nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful,” told viewers to “forget about money when it comes to kids — find somebody you really like that you can live with for the rest of your life.” He added that their focus should be to “get married sooner; have more kids.”

O’Leary has two children, Savannah and Trevor, with his wife, Linda.

O’Leary and his wife, Linda.

The investor’s advice might seem detached from reality to couples who want kids but feel they can’t afford them. Years of historic inflation, soaring interest rates, recession fears, ballooning childcare costs, and an affordability crisis in the housing market have made starting a family seem like a pipe dream.

Having children can leave parents with less money to save and invest each month and might mean putting their money into a college fund instead of nurturing their retirement nest egg.

It can also mean they take a step back at work or quit to spend more time with the kids, risking losing out on promotions and sacrificing some lifetime earnings.

O’Leary has gushed about raising children in the past while acknowledging they’re far from cheap.

“Of course, it’s wonderful to have a family, and I endorse the idea forever,” O’Leary told CNBC Make It in 2019. “It’s wonderful to have children grow up with you, watch them age, become part of a family. It’s fantastic. But they’re not free. They’re very expensive.”

O’Leary might be supportive of getting married and having kids, but he’s also warned people not to blindly tie the knot and recommended they sign a prenup to protect their assets.

He’s repeatedly pointed out that about one in two marriages end in divorce and compared putting a ring on it to making a major investment decision that deserves extensive due diligence.

If O’Leary’s correct, a combination of care and haste might be the right balance to strike.