The 53-year-old writer, director, producer and actress thought she couldn't play a convincing on-screen mother until she became one in real life.
Unfortunately, conceiving proved difficult for Vardalos and her husband with the highly anticipated sequel getting pushed further and further back in her mind.
"I hid the truth of why I didn't want to do the sequel," she said, while out in Australia to promote the follow-up which grossed over $17M in its opening weekend in the US.
"I just kept quietly saying 'No, it's okay' and I did other movies. I mean, I couldn't even pour cream into a coffee at a diner without someone right up next to me going 'Where's the sequel?'
"The truth is, I wasn't a mum. And how do I say that, you know? How do I say 'we're in a private situation'.
"That all changed on my daughter's first day of kindergarten, I realised 'oh well, I have become my own suffocating Greek mother haven't I'.
"I hid the truth of why I didn't want to do the sequel"
"And that's what I wrote about."
Vardalos and her husband adopted a daughter in 2008, with her dedicating a chapter in her book to talking about the process and often sharing advice with other hopeful parents.
"I would tell myself it's your God given right to have a biological child, so try everything you can if that's what you want.
"And if that's not what you do want, there's another world out there.
"It's the most gratifying experience because I think that My Big Fat Greek Wedding one - as it shall be known from now on - I think it happened to me because I was supposed to go through this and find my daughter and become very vocal about adoption."
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