Alec Baldwin regrets how his tumultuous split from ex Kim Basinger impacted their daughter, Ireland.
The “30 Rock” star made rare comments about his former romance with the “9 1/2 weeks” actress during Sunday’s episode of his new TLC reality series, “The Baldwins.”
“I must say that because my relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother and having a very protracted custody battle that the media really were having a party about everything,” he explained.
He said the divorce “went on for seven years,” of “which the financials were probably a year and a half and then everything else was custody.”
Baldwin, 66, and Basinger, 71, were married for nearly two decades until their 2002 split, which resulted in a bitter custody battle over the now-29-year-old.
The “Rust” actor said the public court battle was “just insanity” and “really, really tough” on both him and his daughter.
“One of my most regrettable things about the whole thing was how it affected Ireland.”
Ireland was caught in the crosshairs of her parents’ nasty split, with Baldwin accusing his ex of “parental alienation.”
Amid their fight for custody, an angry voicemail the actor left for his daughter was leaked to TMZ after she missed one of their scheduled calls.
In the voicemail, Baldwin called the then-11-year-old a “rude, little pig” and referred to Basinger as “a thoughtless pain in the ass.”
Baldwin lost temporary visitation rights as a result and later apologized for losing his temper.
Despite the messy situation, the “It’s Complicated” star said Ireland “is grown” now and they “have a good relationship.”
Baldwin moved on with now-wife Hilaria Baldwin, whom he wed in 2012. The pair share seven children — Carmen, 11, Rafael, 9, Leonardo, 8, Romeo, 6, Eduardo, 4, María, also 4, and Ilaria, 2.
Alec said Ireland has been a great older sister to her younger half-siblings — regardless of her own difficult upbringing.
“She loves the kids. I mean, she’s very sweet to them, and she’s their older sister, but she’s not in that pack,” he shared.
Although Alec deeply regrets how he handled things with his eldest, he learned from the experience moving forward.
“This is why I think I’m so focused on [daughter] Carmen and I want to have a good relationship with Carmen, because I have a girl all over again,” he shared.
The “Beetlejuice” star has also patched up his relationship with his ex-wife over the years. The actress recently told Variety that she and Alec and “have a great relationship.”
“I have great respect for where he is today, and his family,” the “Never Say Never” actress told the publication last month.
Although they “don’t spend Christmases and holidays or see each other very much,” Basinger said they “have a very genuinely cordial” and “loving relationship in a lot of ways.”
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