Rebel Wilson opens up on her rocky relationship with her late father, reveals she put a heartfelt letter in his coffin

Rebel Wilson says opening up about her late father is now easier 'because he passed away'
PUBLISHED MAR 30, 2024
Rebel Wilson candidly spoke about her tumultous relationship with her late father (Getty Images)
Rebel Wilson candidly spoke about her tumultous relationship with her late father (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rebel Wilson has candidly shared details of her tumultuous relationship with her late father Warwick in her upcoming memoir 'Rebel Rising: A Memoir.'

In an excerpt from the upcoming book published in the People magazine, the 44-year-old actress recounts a poignant moment of writing a letter to her father and putting in his coffin after he died from a heart attack at the age of 62 in 2013.


 
 
 
 
 
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Rebel Wilson wrote 'I forgive you' in the letter she put in her late father's coffin

Wilson wrote the heartfelt letter to her late father as a way to get closure from their rocky relationship.

"To dear Dad," the letter began. "I’ve said a lot that you were never really part of my acting career, but on reflection, you were and are," she wrote.

"There’s a cheekiness, a dodginess and entrepreneurial-ness, a darkness, a creative-ness, a bravado-ness that comes from you and your side of the family. I thank you greatly for that. I’m sure you didn’t mean to bring so much pain to Mum and us kids. You didn’t mean to lose your temper and do spiteful and hateful things," she continued.

"I want you to know that I forgive you. I will strive to find love, I will no longer be afraid of it," the 'Pitch Perfect' star added, signing off, "Your daughter, Rebel xoxo."


 
 
 
 
 
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Rebel Wilson says opening up about her late father is now easier 'because he passed away'

Speaking about her memoir set to be released on April 2, Wilson reflects on how she feels opening up about her difficult relationship with her late father. 

“At one part, it is easier because he's passed away. And I wonder whether I would've had the courage to do it if he was still here... [so] it's a little bit easier, I guess, in that respect that he's not," she said.

"But that is also something that I've never spoken about before, and it is cathartic, I think, to write about it," Wilson added.

Wilson who is a mother herself to a 16-month-old daughter Royce shared that her relationship with her late father Warwick "wasn't so black and white."

"There were all these other things — the sadness that I felt when he did pass away so suddenly, and how tragic that was, and how I have regrets," she explained.

"It surprised me by writing [the memoir], sometimes, the empathy I felt towards him and thinking about his life and his struggles," she added.


 
 
 
 
 
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She further shared she was pressured to maintain a "good" girl image and had to endure punishments when she was a child.

"I think it probably led to not having good self-worth, and also thinking you had to be good all the time, being a good girl and not being naughty," said Wilson.

"I was not naughty in any way because I think I was fearful," the 'Bridesmaids' star continued.

"At school, I would be very good and get very good grades, and I would never talk back or be disrespectful. I never smoked or drank or did anything naughty because I would be scared. So I always had to be a very sensible and responsible child," she added.

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