Emma Roberts’ father Eric breaks silence after skipping daughter’s wedding

Eric Roberts has broken his silence after he was noticeably absent from daughter Emma Roberts’ wedding.

The 70-year-old actor missed the actress’s intimate ceremony as she married longtime partner Cody John in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 26. While Emma celebrated her special day surrounded by loved ones, Eric was photographed in Los Angeles.

Despite not attending the nuptials, the The Dark Knight actor made it clear there are no hard feelings. “I love my daughter, always have, always will,” Eric told Page Six on July 27. “It is perfectly wonderful for her to celebrate however she wants, with whomever she wants.”

A complicated father-daughter relationship

Eric welcomed Emma in 1991 with his former partner Kelly Cunningham before later marrying casting director Eliza Garrett in 1992.

Over the years, the father and daughter have experienced a sometimes complicated relationship, something Eric has openly acknowledged in recent interviews.

© Kevin Winter

Appearing on the Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson podcast in April, he dismissed suggestions that they are estranged.

“Not really,” he said when asked whether things between them were complicated.

“It’s only complicated through outside eyes because they don’t get any of it, so they have their own take, whatever that is.”

© Getty Images

Taking responsibility

During the same interview, Eric reflected candidly on his struggles after Emma was born, admitting he wasn’t emotionally equipped to be the father she deserved.

“I was not to be depended on emotionally whatsoever because I was a car wreck,” he explained. “I was a car wreck because of many things, but I take full responsibility for it.”

© Ron Galella Collection via Getty

The actor has previously admitted that losing his relationship with Emma was one of the most painful periods of his life.

Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast in 2024, Eric described the heartbreak in deeply personal terms. “There’s not a pain, there’s a sadness for the, most likely, misunderstanding we’ll have forever because we’re human,” he said.