Kate and Oliver Hudson's Estranged Father Speaks Out, Addresses Family 'Rift'

08/05/2024 16:52

While both Kate and her older brother have developed a great relationship with stepdad Kurt Russell, they've been open about feeling abandoned by Bill -- Goldie Hawn's ex -- when they were kids.

After both Kateand Oliver Hudson opened up about rebuilding their relationship with their estranged father, Bill, the Hudson Brothers singer is speaking out.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Bill, who shares Kate and Oliver with ex-wife, Goldie Hawn, said the family are "warming up" and "letting things take their course."

"All families have rifts. It's nice that our rift is healing," Bill says, who is also dad to Emily, 42, and Zachary, 38, with his late ex-wife, Cindy Williams, and 18-year-old Lalania with ex Caroline Graham. The musician also had son Paul as a teen, who was put up for adoption.

Bill's comments come just days after Kate discussed the family rift while appearing on CBS Sunday Morning, where she got candid about her strained connection to her biological father.

"I don't really have one," Kate said when asked about what her relationship with her dad is like now. She did say that she was hopeful for the future, however, adding, "It's warming up."

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"Kate put it perfectly," Bill told Us.

As for how things are going, after "years of ups and downs," Bill said he and the kids are taking things slow.

"There's no pressure," Bill, 74, explained. "We're just letting it be what it will be. Because no one is pushing it, there's no turmoil or issues."

While both Kate and her older brother have developed a great relationship with stepdad Kurt Russell over the years, they've been open about feeling abandoned by Bill when they were kids, with Oliver even posting a scathing Father's Day message on Instagram in 2015, where he slammed Bill.

"Happy abandonment day," Oliver wrote at the time, sharing a throwback photo of Oliver and Kate with Bill. Afterward, Bill said he didn't want to see his eldest children "ever again" but reconnected with Oliver three years later, and now Kate.

With the past in their rearview, the trio are doing their best to look forward.

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"A lot went down, and we aren't revisiting it," Bill told the outlet. "No one wants to rehash the past. You can't move forward if all you're doing is analyzing the past. We're in the present."

As Kate and Oliver warm up to their dad, they're also getting back in touch with the stepsiblings.

"My sister and I and my brother have all just started communicating again," Kate revealed during a January episode of the Sibling Revelry podcast, which she cohosts with Oliver. "I had this moment last year where I was like, 'I don't know why I don't talk to my other siblings.'"

Kate said that she reached out to one of her sisters, believed to be Emily. "I got on the phone with [her], and we just started bawling our eyes out. It was great. She even said it. We start now. We start now," she said.

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And Bill couldn't be happier to see everyone getting along.

"My daughter Emily just had a baby [and] Kate's been great about that," Bill shared before revealing that that Emily -- who's a songwriter -- and Zachary -- who's also a musician -- recently attended Kate's premiere party for her upcoming debut album, Glorious.

"It's great," he added of the renewed bond. "I love it. We're all coming back. Everyone has gone through life experiences and all the crap in the public eye and realized that all you have is your family."