While reflecting on his past, Emma Roberts’ dad, Eric Roberts, opened up about how he was “impossibly coked up” when the actress was born.
In his new memoir Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far, Roberts recalled the complicated relationship he shares with his daughter, whom he shares with former girlfriend Kelly Cunningham.
“I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules, despite my own weaknesses,” Emma Roberts’ dad wrote, per Entertainment Weekly. “However, I couldn’t handle the realities of an infant coming into my life, and I couldn’t handle being a parent!”
Eric also admitted in the memoir that he’s “still not a father figure” 33 years after Emma was born. “Emma, on the other hand, certainly knows what that role is — now grown up and a mom herself,” he continued. “She’s that person to her first child, Rhodes.”
Emma shares her son Rhodes with her former boyfriend, Garrett Hedlund. The couple called it quits in 2022.
Along with reflecting on his parenting, Eric also wrote about leaving Kelly less than a year after Emma was born.
“We went through a lot, and [Cunningham] saw me at my absolute worst — yet she stayed, for a time, though I’m sure she questioned whether or not she should,” he stated. “We both wanted a child — maybe I did more than she — but we both wanted to become parents.”
Eric described the pregnancy as being “very exciting” and he “fell madly in love with Emma the first minute” he saw her.
However, he admitted to struggling with cocaine amid Emma’s birth. This led to him struggling to parent his daughter. “The biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma,” Eric pointed out. “I was still impossibly coked up when she was born, which explains everything.”
Emma Roberts’ Dad Once Said He’s Not Supposed to Talk About Her or His Sister Julia Roberts
During an appearance on Steve Kmetko’s “Still Here Hollywood” podcast earlier this year, Emma Roberts’ dad Eric stated he’s not supposed to talk about her or his sister, Julia Roberts.
“I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her,” he explained. “She doesn’t want to talk about it. And also, my daughter’s told me also not to talk about her, but I stumble and do. I’m not supposed to talk about either of them, but I do.”
Despite being unable to talk about her, Eric couldn’t help but gush about his daughter.
“Whenever you’re asked that kind of question, if you name one person you leave out two. It doesn’t really work to answer that question,” he said. “But, the way I can answer it and be honest about it is, I am in love with my daughter’s work these days, like I can’t believe how great she’s become.”
He also joked that he had “absolutely nothing” to do with his daughter’s success except giving her his last name.