Eric Roberts admits his ‘sadness’ over ‘loss of relationship’ with daughter Emma Roberts
Eric Roberts addressed his strained relationship with daughter Emma Roberts.
“There’s not a pain, there’s a sadness for the, most likely, misunderstandings we’ll all have forever. Because we’re human,” the actor, 68, said during Tuesday’s episode of the “Inside of You” podcast.
The “Dark Knight” star was asked to reflect on the “toughest time” of his life, to which he quickly replied was the “loss of relationship” with the 33-year-old actress.
Eric welcomed Emma with his ex Kelly Cunningham in 1991.
He confirmed he wrote about their strained relationship in his memoir, “Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far,” which was published on Sept. 17.
When asked whether it was a “big chapter,” he said, “It should be. The problem is it’s indefinable — so I’ll let you be the judge of that.”
He also credited becoming a grandparent for his new perspective on the situation with Emma.
“I started accepting that about myself with the birth of my grandchildren,” Eric said. “Especially the 5-year-old, she was first and she was a girl and took a liking to me in a very strong way.”
The actor went on to say that his eldest granddaughter “looks like Emma,” which “reminds me of what I didn’t have.”
Eric is a grandfather to two children from his stepchildren. Emma, meanwhile, shares her 3-year-old son, Rhodes Robert Hedlund, with her ex Garrett Hedlund.
He then backtracked on his earlier statement about there not being a “pain” and called that chapter in his memoir “the most painful personally.”
“To write it at all was the hardest thing to write,” Eric said. “That book was hard to write and I didn’t want to write it.”
He then credited his wife, Eliza Roberts, for encouraging him to continue writing when he wanted to give up.
“My wife said, ‘It’s hard ’cause you’re staying honest,’ and I let that be my fuel,” Eric said.
Eric previously gushed over Emma’s work during an interview with Page Six in February.
He said he’s very proud of her “every day” and that one of his favorite films of hers is the 2023 rom-com “Maybe I Do.”
A year before that in February 2023, he took to Instagram to wish her a happy birthday with a throwback father-daughter photo from her childhood.
“I knew she’d grow up to be all that and more. One of the rare things I was right about. I love you, Emma,” he wrote in part.
