James Denton Explains Why L.A. is ‘Not a Great Place to Raise Kids'

Desperate Housewives alum James Denton opened up about raising his family outside of Los Angeles.

"It's nothing against L.A. … It is what it is. There's a lot of positives, a lot of negatives," Denton, 63, told Fox News Digital in an interview published on Monday, June 29. "It's not a great place to raise kids."

The actor and his wife, Erin O'Brien, lived in the L.A. area during the run of Desperate Housewives but later moved to Minnesota to raise their two children, son Sheppard, 23, and daughter Malin, 21. (Denton has since moved back to L.A. with his wife.)

In his latest interview, Denton said being outside of the Hollywood bubble has allowed him to "watch the social media impact and the desire to keep up with the other people" without it directly impacting his family.

"Whether it's the plastic surgery or the nails or the hair or all that," he said. "It's really interesting to me and something my daughter didn't really go through in the Midwest to that degree. So that was interesting to see. Wow, that is a different culture for kids."

Denton went on, "Some parents handle it great and do a wonderful job. But I thought it was easier just to get out of it. And we had a great reason with all the family there. But, L.A. is a tougher place because of, I think just that whole, the emphasis on image, which really is hard to escape in L.A."

The Good Witch star pointed out that he knows a lot of "fantastic" kids who grew up in Hollywood - he simply felt the Midwest was "a better place for [his own kids] to grow up."

"Their mom and I were like, ‘Look, all of her family was up in Minnesota, great place to raise kids, in the Midwest, great public schools, let's get them out of LA. Let them grow up somewhere a little more healthy and then I'll figure it out,'" he recalled. "And there's a good example, providence, whatever. I immediately got a job on the Hallmark Channel in Toronto. So I was only two hours away and I flew home every weekend."

At the time that the Dentons moved to Minnesota, he told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that it was important for his two children to grow up around his wife's family.

"Our kids get to grow up with their cousins and grandparents," Denton said in 2015. "And we got them out of L.A., so it's all good."

Denton previously revealed that he was never entirely comfortable playing hunky plumber Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives back in the day. (He starred on the hit ABC show for eight seasons, during which Mike married neighbor Susan Mayer, played by Teri Hatcher, not only once but a second time after the couple split.)

"I was never OK with it. I spent most of my career playing bad guys until Housewives," he admitted on Australia's The Morning Show in March 2021. "I had never been hunky. I was happy to be there, don't get me wrong, but it was uncomfortable. It follows me forever, that shirtless shot in the front yard."

He added, "I had trouble getting seen for anything that was a suit and tie role or maybe a politician. Anything like that that wasn't blue-collar, I had a little trouble right after Housewives. But you'll never hear me complain."

Desperate Housewives aired on ABC from 2004 to 2013.

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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 3:05 PM.