Eric Roberts on Fatherhood: Magic & Reality

0:00On April 6th, Eric Roberts just got real about the chaos in his life when his daughter Emma was born back in 1991. The 69-year-old actor spilled it on the really famous podcast, saying he was an emotional wreck, like a total car crash, not someone you could. Lean on, at all. That birth moment though, he calls it pure magic. Emma came out screaming her head off, but when he sang Happy Birthday to her, she quieted down and locked eyes on him with those newborn blind eyes. He felt this instant connection, like she already knew him through their shared DNA, the most complete feeling he's ever had. Still, that high didn't make him ready for dad life. In his memoir Runaway Train, Eric owned up to falling madly in love with Baby Emma, but bailing on the realities of parenting. He even left her mom Kelly when Emma was just seven months old, admitting he saw her at his worst, and wasn't cut out to be a father figure. Fast forward, and Eric pushes back on all the outside of drama about their bond.

1:00He says it's only complicated to people who don't get it, but he's proud of Emma every single day, loving her work and how she's killing it now at 35. These days as a grandfather to her five-year-old son Rhodes, Eric sees family vibes shifting for the better, more open and supportive. That first recognition between him and Emma remains his most unforgettable magic, pop culture, power by AI. This is Entertainment and celebrity news today.