Father of 'This Is Us' Star Chrissy Metz Speaks out After Allegedly Abandoning Her Decades Ago

Mark Metz, the estranged father of This Is Us star Chrissy Metz, fought back against claims he only wants to reconnect with his daughter now that she's a major star.

The 66-year-old Navy veteran told The Daily Mail this week that he has been trying to save the family for several years after his divorce from Denise, Metz's mother. Chrissy Metz was raised by her stepfather, Crayton, from the age of 10.

"Chrissy was born in the Navy and grew up in the Navy, I was sent overseas and the family came back to Florida, then I had to deal with her mother when we got divorced," Metz told the Daily Mail. "I've seen her on occasions over the years, but not a lot since she's moved to Hollywood."

Metz says he is "very proud" of the 37-year-old Chrissy Metz, but she never reaches out to him. The family is split, with Chrissy Metz, her mother and older sister Monica on one side. Chrissy Metz's brother Phil has sided with their father.

"She never reaches out, I've called her, I've left voicemail messages, contacted her on Facebook. She came down here once, two Christmases ago, and I've not seen her since," Metz claimed. "Did I abandon her? No! I didn't abandon anybody. If she never contacts me, that's her business."

Metz, who has been married to his second wife Maria for 25 years, said Denise had a serious stroke in August and cannot speak. He's hoping that tragedy would inspire Chrissy Metz to reach out.

He also claims Denise told her children lies about his deployment. She told them he never sent money home when he served in the Navy, he claims. He said he learned Denise was "fooling around" in West Palm Beach with another man from another Navy servicemember.

"When it hit me was when I got called in while I was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and the Captain says to me, "Chief, how come your bills aren't being paid?"' Metz told the Daily Mail. "I was like, 'What are you talking about?' All these stores back in the States wanted money, and nobody was paying for my house. Then I was pissed, because I was sending all of my money home."

Metz insisted that he never missed a child support payment after the divorce. He said Denise caused the family feud by drinking and getting the family evicted from their house.

Chrissy Metz doesn't talk to her father, Metz said, adding that he's disappointed that they don't have a relationship. Still, he has nothing but positive things to say about her.

"I think she's done well in Hollywood, she always did well in school, she was the smartest out of all of my kids," Metz said.

Chrissy Metz has talked about her troubled relationship with her father in the past. In February, she told Entertainment Tonight that the relationship has been nonexistent since her parents divorced.

"I was the youngest child and I felt like, 'OK, this is great, but I never felt like we really bonded, and then, when my parents got the divorce, it was like, we just didn't have a relationship," the Emmy-nominated actress told ET. "There was a lot of resentment toward him about leaving and how do you leave your children. We never know people's full [stories] and I don't obviously know everything that he was going through."

Photo credit: NBC