Emma Roberts' father Eric Roberts on 'losing relationship' with daughter: 'There is a sadness'

Eric Roberts is sharing more about his relationship with daughter Emma Roberts.

The actor, 68, spoke with Michael Rosenbaum on a new episode of the “Inside of You” podcast. When Rosenbaum was asked what the “toughest time” of his life was, Roberts replied, “Probably my relationship with my daughter.”

“There's no pain, maybe there's a sadness for the misunderstanding that I'll have forever, because we're human,” he said.

Roberts, who recently competed on “Dancing with the Stars,” went on to explain that she only recently realized the enormity of the loss.

“I started to accept that about myself as soon as my grandchildren were born,” she said.

Among the two stepsons Roberts shares with his wife, Eliza Roberts, are three grandchildren and one grandchild by his daughter Emma, ​​a 3-year-old son, Rhodes Robert Hedlund, whom he shares with his ex, Garrett Hedlund.

The “Pope of Greenwich Village” star says it's her oldest granddaughter who, in particular, drives home the point that she looks like Emma. “And so it reminded me of what I didn't have,” she shared.

Roberts recently released a memoir, “Runaway Train: The Story of My Life So Far,” detailing how his past drug use damaged his relationship with Emma and her sister Julia Roberts.

“Of course, the biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma,” Roberts wrote. The actor lost custody of Emma to her mother Kelly Cunningham when the future star was a child. Julia supported Kelly in the custody dispute, a move that Roberts cites as the beginning of his strained relationship with Julia.

“I imagine I'll be Julia's brother and Emma Roberts' father for the rest of my life,” he added. “I want to do well in it, walk away with pride and grace. That's part of the reason for writing the book.”

Roberts used her book to give Julia a Maya Culpa for comments she made in 2018 about taking credit for her career.

“If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as a celebrity as an actress,” she told Vanity Fair at the time. “And I'm very proud of that.”

“I hope Julia accepts this public apology,” he wrote of her comments. “It was an unusual thing to say.”

So far, it seems Julia doesn't mind what Roberts writes about their family life in her memoir.

“If he did, we would definitely hear about it,” he said recently. “He'll let us know he's bored.”