Eric Roberts' Family Agony: Actor Confesses 'Sadness' Over Estrangement from Daughter Emma — After His Memoir Reignited Julia Roberts Feud
Eric Roberts opened up about his 'sadness' over his strained relationship with daughter Emma Roberts.
Oct. 23 2024, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Eric Roberts has broken his silence on his estranged relationship with daughter Emma Roberts.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the actor confessed "there's a sadness" in his life due to his fractured relationship with his daughter, as his feud with famous sister Julia Roberts reignited with the release of his bombshell memoir.
Eric, 68, detailed the turmoil in his family on a recent appearance on the Inside of You podcast.
Eric detailed his strained relationship with daughter Emma in his memoir 'Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far'.
Host Michael Rosenbaum asked the 68-year-old was asked about the "toughest time" in his life, to which Eric quickly replied: "Probably the loss of relationship with my daughter."
He said: "There's not a pain, there's a sadness for the, most likely, misunderstandings we'll all have forever. Because we're human."
Eric hasn't been shy about sharing his strained family ties. He detailed his "misunderstandings" with Emma in his memoir, Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far.
When he was asked if the part of his book discussing his estrangement from the Scream Queens star was a "big chapter", he quipped: "It should be."
In his memoir, Eric wrote about feeling inadequate when Emma was born.
The Dark Knight actor added: "The problem is it's indefinable — so I'll let you be the judge of that."
Eric went on to credit the birth of his grandchildren, whom he shares with wife Eliza, for changing his outlook on the situation with Emma.
He said: "I started accepting that about myself with the birth of my grandchildren.
"Especially the 5-year-old, she was first and she was a girl, and … very vulnerable to me and (she) took a liking to me at two, two-and-a-half, in a very strong way."
Eric added his eldest granddaughter "looks like Emma" which further added to his pain, as it "reminds me of what I didn't have".
He said his eldest granddaughter 'looks like Emma' and 'reminds me of what I didn't have'.
In his memoir, Eric recalled feeling like an inadequate parent when he welcomed Emma with ex Kelly Cunningham in 1991.
He penned: "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.
"I never saw myself as someone who deserved to have physical custody of Emma, not in a million years. We both knew better than that. Kelly never claimed I was trying to get physical custody of Emma. There really was no custody fight. I’m very happy to be straightening this out right now."
Eric's tell-all reignited his feud with sister Julia as he slammed her acting chops in the book.
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While reflecting on his memoir – and the chapter about Emma – he said: "To write it at all was the hardest thing to write. That book was hard to write and I didn't want to write it."
As RadarOnline.com reported, Eric's memoir also reignited his feud with Julia, whose career he ridiculed in the book.
He wrote: "Julia was good in Mystic Pizza, great in Pretty Woman, but not much in Steel Magnolias, in my opinion.
"I don't want to sound like an actor talking, or a jealous sibling, but I don't think her performance help up in that movie."
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