
The Oscar-nominated actor opens up about his deepest regrets and the complexities of his relationship with his actress daughter in a deeply personal conversation.
- Oct 23, 2024
AceShowbiz - Eric Roberts, the Oscar-nominated actor and father to actress Emma Roberts, recently delved into his most significant life regrets during a candid conversation on the "Inside of You" podcast with Michael Rosenbaum. The pivotal point of discussion centered around what Roberts described as the "toughest period" of his life, the loss of a close relationship with his daughter, Emma.
"Probably the loss of relationship with my daughter," Roberts stated plainly. "There's not a pain, there's a sadness for the most likely misunderstanding is what I'll have forever, because we're human."
Roberts, who has faced challenges with addiction in the past, has been transparent about how these struggles impacted his relationship with both Emma and his sister Julia Roberts. In his memoir "Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far", he expressed how his former drug use played a significant role in the custody battle over Emma, leading to Julia supporting Emma's mother Kelly Cunningham.
"Of course, the biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma," Roberts wrote in his memoir. "I never saw myself as someone who deserved to have physical custody of Emma, not in a million years. Kelly never claimed I was trying to get physical custody of Emma, so therefore, Julia never sided with Kelly in a custody fight. There really was no custody fight. I'm very happy to be straightening this out right now."
Despite the distance that developed, Roberts has found joy in connecting with his grandchildren, which, in turn, has recontextualized his regrets. He noted that his eldest granddaughter, shares a striking resemblance to Emma, bringing him a bittersweet reminder of what he missed as a father.
"I started accepting that about myself with the birth of my grandchildren," he said. "Especially the five-year-old. She was first, and she was a girl, so very vulnerable to me, and took a liking to me at two, two-and-a-half, in a very strong way. She also looks like Emma ... and so it reminds me of what I didn't have."
Roberts also uses social media to maintain a connection with Emma, with her blessing. "Emma gave permission for us to interact a little bit with her on her Instagram page," he revealed in his memoir. Moreover, he often praises her work publicly, recently noting, "I am in love with my daughter's work these days ... She overwhelms me with pride."