Robert De Niro revealed that he still struggles with feeling "guilty" when he's away from his seven children.
The actor, 83, has five grown kids, one teenager, and a toddler, and admitted that he finds it difficult to be apart from them while he's working.
Despite his large brood, Robert confessed that he has yet to find the "secret" to balancing fatherhood with his Hollywood career.
"I don't know if there is a secret. It's just managing it all," he recently told People.
"And there's no way around not feeling a little guilty about not being there at times you should, or you think you should," he continued.
And while he is no stranger to raising kids, he admitted that each time has been "a new experience."
© Getty Images"It's not like you've taken courses on it and stuff," he added. "You can, of course, but you don't. You just jump in and you have the child and you got to... That's it."
Robert shares his first two children, Drena, 54, whom he adopted, and Raphael, 49, with his ex-wife, Diahnne Abbott.
The Raging Bull star then got into a relationship with model Toukie Smith, with whom he had twins Julian and Airyn, 30.
© Getty ImagesDuring his marriage to Grace Hightower, Robert welcomed son Elliot, 28, on March 18, 1998, and daughter Helen, 14, was delivered via surrogate in December 2011.
He welcomed his seventh child, daughter Gia, three, in 2023, with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen.
"It feels great," he told AARP after Gia’s birth. "Everything that I'm consumed with or worried about just goes away when I look at her. It's wondrous."
© Courtesy of Robert De NiroBeing an older dad hasn't been easy, however. "There are great moments and moments of sadness," Robert has said.
"Sometimes you're the last person they want to deal with. It's like when you walk your kids to school, and they get older and they don't want to hold your hand or kiss you goodbye."
But there is also so much happiness to be had. He described Gia as a "great joy," and told People: "She’s such an adorable baby. So sweet. [When I] look at her, everything else goes away. So it's a great joy and relief to just be with her in the moment.
© Getty ImagesThe Oscar winner added: "The kids all get a big kick out of her. The grandkids even. She's their aunt – [and] they're about to be teenagers! The fact that they'd all be together is everything to me."
Robert also imparted his words of wisdom on approaching fatherhood during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2025. "The main thing is to support your kids," he said.
© Getty Images"As long as they're not hurting themselves, doing anything destructive or anything like that, you have to support them – period."
He emphasized: "Even if you don't go with it – you have to support them. And they have to know that you support them. Always."
