Eric Roberts Bluntly Owns up to Failures in Fathering Daughter Emma

In his new memoir, actor Eric Roberts speaks candidly about not being able to "handle the realities" of parenthood, after his daughter Emma Roberts was born.

By Stephen Andrew

Eric Roberts is owning up to his fathering failures. In his new memoir — Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far — the actor bluntly addresses his absence from his daughter Emma Roberts' life, revealing that he "abandoned" his ex-partner Kelly Cunningham "when Emma was just seven months old," according to Entertainment Weekly.

"We went through a lot, and [Kelly] saw me at my absolute worst – yet she stayed, for a time, though I'm sure she questioned whether or not she should," Roberts writes. "We both wanted a child – maybe I did more than she – but we both wanted to become parents."

The Dancing With The Stars contestant goes on to fondly remember the prospect of parenthood, writing, "The pregnancy was very exciting. I fell madly in love with Emma the first minute I saw her. We'd even tried to bring on labor so it could happen exactly on the due date. It was a natural birth. I sang 'Happy Birthday' to her belly a lot. When Emma finally made her appearance, she wasn't quite quiet and mellow, but when I started singing 'Happy Birthday' to her, she must have recognized my voice because she calmed right down."

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(Photo:

Actor Eric Roberts (left) and his daughter Emma Roberts (right)

- John Nacion/Getty Images, Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)

However, while he had a positive outlook on being a dad, Roberts — who is brother to Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts — confesses that he never felt like he had the fortitude for it. "I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules, despite my own weaknesses," he writes. "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."

Finally, Roberts admits that his substance abuse issues were the main cause of his inability to be a more present father in Emma's life. "The biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma," he writes. "I was still impossibly coked up when she was born, which explains everything." 

Roberts' memoir Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far is now available in bookstores and online retailers.

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