Jack Osbourne has opened up about the difficulties he faced in his relationship with his late father, Ozzy Osbourne, and how addiction created distance between them.
Speaking on the Leave No Doubt Fatherhood podcast, Jack reflected on growing up with a father who “wasn’t the greatest parent” at times.
“There were times when [Ozzy] wasn’t the greatest parent.
“He came from a time where fathers didn’t really parent back then. They went to work, they did the deal. And when we were kids, there’d be arguments, and as a teenager, you’d fight with your dad kind of s***.”
“And I remember one time he looked at me, he was, like: ‘What have you got to complain about? You’ve never wanted for anything. You’ve got [everything]’.
“And I was, like: ‘I want a dad. I want a relationship with you.’
“’Cos he had his own struggles, he had his own addiction issues that he struggled with for most of his life. And that is a huge wedge in any parental kind of arena.”
Despite those challenges, Jack believes his upbringing has informed how he now parents his own children.
“I think so much of parenting is you learn from your parents’ mistakes ultimately, and you pick and choose: ‘Hey, I liked that my parents did that,’ ‘I didn’t like that my parents did that.’
“And that’s okay, ’cause our parents did the same s***. And my dad didn’t raise me at all like his dad raised him.
“And same with my mother – she very much was very different from her parents. And that’s kind of, whether people realize it or not, I think that’s the gift we give our kids.
“If they’re aware enough, we give ’em that playbook to operate from when they’re ready to be parents.”
