Oliver Hudson has been candid about the childhood trauma he experienced growing up with Goldie Hawn as a mother.
The 47-year-old actor, the first child of Hawn and her ex-husband Bill Hudson, revealed that he had completed a Hoffman Institute course to understand his trauma in a recent episode of his Sibling Rivalry Podcast.
While he expected it to mainly focus on his relationship with his estranged father, the Scream Queens alum was surprised to discover that he had the most ‘trauma’ about his Oscar-winning mother.
“My mother was the one I had almost the most trauma with, funnily enough, because she was my primary caregiver and I was with her all the time, so I felt unprotected at times,” Oliver shared.
‘She would be working. “She had new boyfriends that I didn’t like very much,” she continued, emphasizing that her mother was simply ‘living her life’ and described her as ‘an amazing mother.’
Oliver Hudson was candid about the childhood trauma he experienced growing up with Goldie Hawn as a mother; photographed in 2015
The 47-year-old actor, the first-born child of Hawn and ex-husband Bill Hudson, revealed that he completed a Hoffman Institute course to understand his trauma on a recent episode of his Sibling Rivalry podcast; photographed in 2002
“This is my own perception as a child who had no father and needed him to be there,” he clarified.
“And she just wasn’t (there) sometimes and she went out a lot more than my dad, who wasn’t there.”
The actor and his sister Kate Hudson, 44, were primarily raised by the First Wives Club actress on their own after she split from their biological father Bill in 1980.
Goldie would end up meeting her partner Kurt Russell in 1983, when Oliver was seven years old.
After Goldie and Bill’s separation, there was a prolonged period of tension in the relationship between Bill, Oliver and Kate.
However, the Hoffman Institute course helped Oliver reach a point of understanding for both Bill and Goldie, according to the actor.
“The forgiveness and compassion that you feel towards them at the end of this process is incredible because then you realize that they are just repeating the boat that they went through, you know, with their parents,” he explained on his podcast.
‘My father’s forgiveness was enormous because his father left him when he was five years old in the middle of the night, missing. You know, my dad didn’t exactly do that, but he essentially left, you know, so I can’t always help but think when we’re parents, what am I imprinting (on my kids).’
While he expected it to primarily focus on his relationship with his estranged father, the Scream Queens alum was surprised to discover that he had the most ‘trauma’ about his Oscar-winning mother; Oliver, his father Bill Hudson and his sister Kate Hudson
“My mother was the one I had almost the most trauma with, funnily enough, because she was my primary caregiver and I was with her all the time, so I felt unprotected at times,” Oliver shared; photographed in 2003
‘She would be working. “She had new boyfriends that I didn’t like very much,” she continued, emphasizing that her mother was simply ‘living her life’ and describing her as ‘an amazing mother; pictured in 2022.’
Oliver has been married to his wife, Erinn Bartlett, since 2006. Together they have sons Wilder, 16, and Bodhi, 13, as well as daughter Rio, 10.
After divorcing Hawn, Bill had two children, daughter Emily and son Zachary, with Laverne and Shirley star and then-wife Cindy Williams.
In 2006, Bill also welcomed his daughter Lalania.
In a 2011 interview with DailyMail.com, Bill criticized Goldie for pitting Oliver and Kate against him once she started dating Kurt.
“When we broke up, she never had a bad word to say about me,” Bill told the Daily Mail. “But when Kurt came into the picture, the narrative changed and I became the big bad wolf.
“I’d say, ‘Goldie, why are you criticizing me and saying I’m an absentee father when that’s just not the case?’ and she’d laugh and say, ‘Oh, Bill, you know that makes the story better.’ ”.
However, over time the situation has improved.
In fact, Oliver acknowledged in 2018 that he had even exchanged ‘a few text messages’ with his estranged father.
“This is my own perception as a child who had no father and needed him to be there,” he clarified. ‘And she just wasn’t (there) sometimes and she went out a lot more than my father, who wasn’t there’ in the 2013 photo.
Oliver Hudson, Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson with their children Ryder Robinson, Wilder Hudson, Bodhi Hudson, Rio Hudson and Bingham Bellamy in 2016
In 2016, Kate opened up about her relationship with her biological father and expressed forgiveness for his abandonment during her childhood.
“I really recognize that whatever those issues are, it’s something he has to live with and it must be painful for him.” So I forgive him,” he said during an interview on The Howard Stern Show.
Despite their past challenges, the Russell-Hawn family, which also includes Goldie and Kurt’s son Wyatt Russell, remains incredibly close.
Oliver previously praised Goldie and Kurt for being “amazing people, amazing grandparents, amazing parents,” in a 2021 interview with US Weekly.