Eric Roberts knows he could have been a better father to his daughter, Emma Roberts.
The 68-year-old actor opened up about his complicated relationship with Emma, 33, in his recently released memoir, “Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far.”
“In spite of my weaknesses, I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules,” he wrote. Entertainment Weekly“However, I couldn't tolerate the realities of a baby coming into my life, and I couldn't take the risk of becoming a parent!”
Eric, who shares Emma with his ex-wife Kelly Cunningham, admitted he's “still not a father figure.”
“Emma, on the other hand, certainly knows what that role is — now that she's grown up and a mother herself,” he added. “She's that person for her first child, Rhodes.”
Emma became a parent in December 2020 when she gave birth to her and Garrett Hedlund's baby boy Son Rhodes. ex couple Split in 2022.
In his memoir, Eric reflects on his decision to “leave” the Cunninghams when Emma was only 7 months old.
“We went through a lot, and (Cunningham) saw me at my worst — yet she stayed for a while, although I'm sure she questioned whether she should,” he recalled. “We both wanted a child — maybe I wanted it more than she did — but we both wanted to be parents.”
“The pregnancy was so exciting,” Eric added. “The first time I saw Emma I fell madly in love with her.”
But Eric revealed he was unable to be a father to Emma due to his struggle with cocaine addiction at the time.
“The biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma,” he wrote. “When she was born, I was still impossibly high on cocaine, that explains it all.”
The “Dancing With the Stars” Season 33 contestant faced legal troubles in the 1980s due to his addiction. In 1995, four years after Emma was born, he became sober after going to 18 months of court-ordered rehab.
Eric opened up in a recent interview about the lessons he learned from his past addiction battle. “Today.”
“Once you come out of it, you don't need to be punished. You don't need to punish yourself,” he shared. “You can come out of it and be okay about it and share your experience. You have to be a good example — and the only way to be a good example is to go through the casualties. And that's a little bit difficult because we have people with addiction who are casualties. We have to fight it every day.”
He also admitted that members of his family — including his famous sister Julia Roberts — had become “isolated” because of his addiction.
“The family, I'm so grateful to them because I love them. I'm so grateful to them because they love me.”
Earlier this year, Eric said “Still Here Hollywood” Podcast that they must not talk about Emma or Julia (56).
He then praised Emma and her acting ability.
“I just love my daughter's work these days,” Eric said of the “American Horror Story” actress. “I can't believe how great she's become.”
“I’m so proud of her I can’t even see properly,” he added. “From her performance in ‘Maybe I Do’ to now, she just overwhelms me with pride and just, ‘Oh my God, there she is again.’ And I’m so happy to be her dad, because she’s doing such a great job. And I’m so proud.”
