Sharing his truth. While Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have an enduring love story for the ages, their relationship with son Chet Hanks has been less rosy.
“There’s a lot of advantages but sometimes it can be pretty weird. I got to do a lot of cool s–t that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do,” Chet said in a February 2022 YouTube video. “I got to travel the world, stay in nice hotels, fly on private planes and I’m very blessed for that. I wouldn’t change my situation.”
While the “White Boy Summer” crooner felt “blessed” regarding his privileged upbringing as the son of two acclaimed stars, he opened up about the toxicity of spending his formative years in the spotlight.
“My experience was even more complicated because, on top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous,” the Maron alum continued in the YouTube video. “I was just the son of somebody famous, so I hadn’t even done anything to deserve any sort of recognition and that created a lot of contempt.”
Chet is the oldest child of the Saving Mr. Banks star and Wilson, who tied the knot in April 1988. Tom — who shares younger son Truman Hanks with the country songstress — is also the father of Colin Hanks and Elizabeth Ann Hanks, whom he welcomed with late wife Samantha Lewes.
The Forrest Gump actor, for his part, has frequently gushed over his role as a father of four, attempting to always support his children.
“As a parent, you love your kids unconditionally,” Tom told Entertainment Tonight in October 2015, shortly after Chet opened up about his addiction struggles. “You support them every step of the way. You got to applaud the bravery and honesty when it actually comes out of your own house.”
The Northwestern University alum — who welcomed daughter Michaiah in April 2016 with ex Tiffany Miles — has been candid about his experience growing up in a famous family through the years.
“I’m aware of the fact that the reason my rapping has been publicized so much is because of that fact [that Tom’s my dad],” the rapper admitted to Vice during a February 2011 interview. “So, I’m appreciative of the publicity that I get because of it. That being said, sometimes in life, it can cause awkward moments to arise. Like, growing up, people would want to become friends with me so they could meet my dad. And they didn’t care about me at all. So that’s just … Well, that goes along with it.”
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