Eric Roberts reflects on parenting Emma Roberts
Eric Roberts says that he 'couldn’t handle being a parent' to Emma Roberts: 'I’m still not a father figure.' https://t.co/4jlgGRbPoG
- Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 21, 2024
Eric Roberts wrote in his new memoir 'Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far'.
He loves being Emma's dad, but he wasn't well-equipped to parent after splitting up with her mom.
"I had abandoned Kelly when Emma was just seven months old. We went through a lot, and Kelly saw me at my absolute worst - yet she stayed, for a time, though I’m sure she questioned whether or not she should. We both wanted a child - maybe I did more than she - but we both wanted to become parents. The pregnancy was very exciting. I fell madly in love with Emma the first minute I saw her. We’d even tried to bring on labor so it could happen exactly on the due date. It was a natural birth. I sang 'Happy Birthday' to her belly a lot. When Emma finally made her appearance, she wasn’t quite quiet and mellow, but when I started singing 'Happy Birthday' to her, she must have recognized my voice because she calmed right down."
Despite his enthusiasm for fatherhood, Eric wasn't perfectly suited for parenting.
"I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules, despite my own weaknesses. However, I couldn’t handle the realities of an infant coming into my life, and I couldn’t handle being a parent! I’m still not a father figure. Emma, on the other hand, certainly knows what that role is - now grown up and a mom herself. She’s that person to her first child, Rhodes. The biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma. I was still impossibly coked up when she was born, which explains everything."
Eric also set the record straight concerning the custody of Emma, and how his sister Julia became involved in his separation from Cunningham. His sister, Julia, helped the ex-couple financially as they established their separation.
Julia and his other sister, Lisa, wanted him to get his act together to support his partner and daughter.
Eric doesn't frame the situation as a betrayal of loyalty.
Eric's not worried about his daughter's ability to survive Hollywood as an actress.
He recognized that his sister and daughter have eclipsed his own fame.
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