Oliver Hudson opens up about trauma from childhood with mom Goldie Hawn, says he felt 'unprotected at times'

Oliver Hudson - son of Hollywood stars Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson - recently shared about his childhood on the ‘Sibling Rivalry’ podcast
PUBLISHED MAR 25, 2024
Oliver Hudson opens up about his trauma from his childhood as he was primarily getting raised by his mother Goldie Hawn (Getty Images)
Oliver Hudson opens up about his trauma from his childhood as he was primarily getting raised by his mother Goldie Hawn (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Oliver Hudson - son of Hollywood stars Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson - recently shared facts about his childhood.

During an appearance on the ‘Sibling Rivalry’ podcast on Monday, March 18, Oliver opened up about getting raised mainly by Hawn and her partner of 41 years, Kurt Russell

HOLLYWOOD - MAY 26:  Actor Kurt Russell, his partner, actress Goldie Hawn, and her children, actress
Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, and her children, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson (Getty Images)

Oliver Hudson talks about childhood ‘trauma’

Appearing on the podcast, ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ star shared, “I did this course called the Hoffman Institute — which was this really powerful thing for me — where you’re unpacking the patterns that were put upon you from your parents and stepparents,” 

The 47-year-old actor continued, “This idea that we have negative love in our lives and to survive, we need love of some kind and sometimes it’s not healthy love but we attach ourselves to those things."

“This course was all about understanding what those patterns were and kind of learning how to break through them and building your toolbox,” explained the ‘Grown-Ups 2’ star, per Us Weekly.

Oliver shared that as he enrolled in the course, he thought it would be focused on his biological father, Bill Hudson, and Russell, his primary father figure. However, after the course commenced, he realized that his 78-year-old mother came up the most.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Oliver Hudson (R) and Erinn Bartlett at
Oliver Hudson and his wife Erinn Bartlett (Getty Images)

The ‘Dawson’s Creek’ actor recalled, “My mother was the one that I had almost the most trauma about interestingly enough because she was my primary caregiver and I was with her all of the time.”

He continued sharing the vulnerabilities and helplessness he felt as his mother went to work. “I felt unprotected at times. She would be working. She had new boyfriends that I didn’t really like,” shared ‘Nashville’ alum.

Oliver admitted nevertheless, “She would be living her life and she was an amazing mother,” while adding, “This is my own perception as a child who didn’t have a dad and needed her to be there and she just wasn’t sometimes and she came out far more than even my dad who wasn’t there.”

Oliver Hudson talked about Bill Hudson

Bill Hudson - one of the members of The Hudson Brothers trio - was married to Goldie Hawn from 1876 to 1980. After the couple’s divorce Bill also remained largely absent from his children’s (Oliver and Kate Hudson) lives. 

Oliver often talked about his issues with his biological father over the years. Nevertheless, after remaining estranged from his father for long, he reconciled with him in 2018, per Hello! Magazine.

In the latest episode of his podcast, he also reminisced about Bill, and said, “When I was with him, it was incredible.”

The 47-year-old actor explained, “He paid attention to me. We played football. We played basketball. We were on the beach. He taught me how to fish.”

“He was so present, but he just was never there. It was a perspective shifter for me for sure,” continued Oliver.

Referring to his struggle of raising his three children with his wife Erinn Bartlett, the actor shared that he now believes his parents were simply trying their best to parenting them.

The ‘Scream Queens’ star continued while recalling the Hoffman Institute, “It’s an incredible week of enlightenment on who your parents were and are.”

“The forgiveness and compassion you have for them at the end of this process are unbelievable. Then you realize they’re only repeating the s–t they went through with their parents,” shared Oliver.

“The forgiveness of my father was huge because his dad left him when he was 5 years old,” continued the ‘Rules of Engagement’ before adding, “My dad didn’t do that exactly, but he bailed.”

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