Macaulay Culkin Shares Rare Message on "Complicated Relationship" With Fatherhood

Macaulay Culkin is feeling like Richie Rich when it comes to being a dad.

The Home Alone star—who shares son Dakota, 3, and a baby boy whose name has not been publicly revealed with fiancée Brenda Song—opened up about what the prospect of Father's Day means to him, especially after all the difficulties he faced with his own father, Kit Culkin.

"If you know a little about me," Macaulay wrote on Instagram June 5, "then you'd know I've had a complicated relationship with Father's Day in the past."

But after starting his own family, the 43-year-old explained he was able to shift the narrative, saying, "Since becoming a papa myself I've decided to reinvent the wheel."

"Other than getting an hour or two of extra sleep I try to make the day a celebration of my boys more than me," Macaulay continued. "After all, they are the ones who made me a father (no offense to Brenda)." 

The My Girl actor went on to note that in their house Father's Day isn't as important "as birthdays or Christmas," but he does still "try to do fun things for the boys on Father's Day. It's a special day."

"Father's Day isn't for me," he added, "it's for the people that make me feel like a father."

Macaulay has previously been open about his own relationship with his father, explaining that once he began to find fame as a child star, the patriarch—who acted as his manager alongside mother Patricia—was constantly making unreasonable demands.

"I was making God-knows-how-much money, and Kit was making me sleep on the couch, just because he could," he said to New York Magazine in 2001. "Just to let you know who's in charge and just to let you know if he doesn't want you to sleep in a bed, you're not going to sleep in a bed."

And for Macaulay and his siblings, life with his dad was "sour from early on, even before the fame stuff," he told Marc Maron in 2018. He also alleged that his father was abusive "physically and mentally" after developing resentment over Macaulay's career.

"He was jealous," he explained. "Everything that he tried to do in his life I excelled at before I was 10 years old."

Macaulay was eventually able to take control of his life, and at age 16, he emancipated himself from his parents.

Keep reading for some adorable Song-Culkin family moments from Macaulay's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in February.

Macaulay Culkin received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Dec. 1, 2023.

Culkin shared a hug with fiancée Brenda Song, who he has been dating for about five years.

Culkin and Song's son Dakota Song Culkin, 2, stepped out for his first public appearance.

The couple also showed off their second baby boy, whose birth was confirmed in March. 

The pair named their eldest Dakota to honor Culkin's older sister, who died in a car accident in 2008. Their younger son's name has yet to be revealed.

Culkin's Home Alone costar Catherine O'Hara delivered a speech to celebrate his milestone.

"The reason families all over the world can’t let a year go by without watching and loving Home Alone together is because of Macaulay Culkin," the actress shared on stage. "It is Macaulay’s perfect performance as Kevin McCallister that gave us that little every boy on an extraordinary adventure."

Paris Jackson also attended to support her godfather.

Michael Jackson's daughter offered a hug to Culkin—a friend of the late singer—at the ceremony.

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum shed a tear while watching the unveiling.

His siblings Quinn Culkin and Rory Culkin were by his side for the special day.

Also among the presenters was Natasha Lyonne, who costarred with Culkin in 2003's Party Monster.