7 Celebrities Who Admit They Were Absent From Their Kids’ Lives

Looking back on their decisions, many of these famous parents have expressed deep regret for their decisions and are now trying to make amends — and some don’t want any relationship at all.

Here’s what these stars had to say about raising their children…

1. Oscar De La Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya admits he was an “absentee father” while his children were growing up, including his daughter Atiana De La Hoya. Looking back, he says he’s really grateful that her mother Shanna Moakler as well as Travis Barker stepped up to raise her.

“Look, I didn’t raise my kids, you know? I have to give credit where credit is due. I’m grateful that Barker was there, you know, as a father figure for my daughter,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

He continued, “I have to be grateful that Shanna was a mother to Atiana…And just know my place, basically, you know? My place — I’m obviously a father, and I’m proud of it. But, again, I’m grateful for what they’ve done. Especially with Barker. He’s obviously stepped up to the plate. He’s such a nice guy. I have the utmost respect for him.”

2. Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner may have appeared to be a doting parent on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, but she’s had a complicated relationship with her older children. Caitlyn admits that in the 1980s, she was largely absent from the lives of her children Burt, Casey, Brandon and Brody, the children she shares with exes Chrystie Crownover and Linda Thompson.

“The big, formative years for them, I was really struggling with these issues,” Caitlyn said of dealing with her gender identity. “I talked to all of the boys about this after the fact, that, yeah, I didn’t do a good job. And I apologized to my kids for that.”

Ahead of Caitlyn’s decision to transition, her son Brandon said that coping with the years they lost was difficult but they were all looking to the future.

“Us missing, you know, a time of our lives is still probably the hardest thing for us to deal with. We’re trying not to look back. We’re just looking forward,” Brandon said.

3. Bill Hudson

Bill Hudson has had a tough relationship with his children through the years, particularly with his daughter Kate Hudson and son Oliver Hudson. Kate says that shortly after he split with their mother Goldie Hawn, he pretty much disappeared from their lives. Bill even went as far as to disown the sibling duo, saying that he “no longer recognized Oliver and Kate as my own.”

While Kate admits she doesn’t understand her father’s reasoning, she says she never would want to do anything to make the situation worse.

“There is always the inability to understand my father, I don’t understand it,” she said. “That must be painful for him and he must have his reasons, but you get to a point in your life…when you add fuel to certain things, I don’t ever want to add fuel to anything.”

4. Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins shares daughter Abigail with his ex Petronella Barker but has largely been uninvolved in her life. Abigail once said that as a child she really only saw Anthony once a year, leading up to a massive fight as a teenager. While they briefly reconnected years later, the two have since become estranged. Nearly 20 years into their estrangement, he said he has no interest in reconciling their relationship.

“You know, I did the best I could, but you know, okay, I think if somebody doesn’t want to be part of my life, fine. Go and do whatever you want. I wish her well and all that, but I don’t want to talk about my daughter. Those things are over,” he told The Telegraph.

5. Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas admits that when his son Cameron was young, he was too focused on his career to be an active presence in his family’s life. While he spent a portion of Cameron’s life working around the world, he also spent time away from home in rehab. Now, he’s trying to make up for lost time.

“When I had Cameron I was early in my career and as opposed to most jobs, making movies takes you all around the world, so you were absentee in that sense,” he shared. “You were away sometimes working hard. We chose for a large part of our marriage not to be living in Los Angeles but be living outside, so you had to travel…[Now] my priorities have completely changed. My marriage and my families come certainly before my career.”

6. John Barrymore

Drew Barrymore has been open about her strained relationship with her father John Barrymore growing up. While looking back on their relationship, she says she was fond of him but would have “liked to have a dad who didn’t look so out there” and “who stayed” in her life. Drew said she was often her own parental figure and quickly realized she couldn’t expect anything from him.

“My dad was a drug addict and he didn’t wear shoes and he was really crazy, but like, awesome…He was just so cool and fascinating and I could tell at a young age, ‘Oh this guy is not capable of s–t,'” she said on The Shop.

7. Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan has a son and a daughter — but he is only involved in his son’s life. Jackie’s daughter Etta was born following his affair with Elaine Ng Yi-lei. The actor was never involved in her life growing up and Etta says she doesn’t even see him as a father.

“He is my biological father but he is not in my life. He never existed in my life. I will never regard him as a father. As long as I have my mother with me, I don’t need my father,” she told E! News.