Emma Roberts married actor Cody John in Idaho last weekend with her five-year-old son, Rhodes, walking her down the aisle, a moment made more pointed by the absence of her father, Eric Roberts, and his long-acknowledged failures as a parent.
Rhodes wore a white tux for the walk, escorting his mother to the altar where she exchanged vows with John. Emma Roberts wore a custom off-white gown designed by Monique Lhuillier, paired with a matching veil and an asymmetrical shawl. Her aunt, Julia Roberts, attended the ceremony. Her father did not.
Eric Roberts, known for his role in "The Dark Knight," confirmed his absence in a brief statement to Page Six. He offered no explanation for why he was not there.
"I love my daughter, always have, always will. It is perfectly wonderful for her to celebrate however she wants, with whomever she wants."
That was the entirety of his public comment. No mention of Rhodes. No mention of the groom. No mention of regret for missing the day.
The wedding-day absence did not come out of nowhere. Eric Roberts has spoken publicly about the fractured relationship in at least two podcast interviews over the past two years, each time taking responsibility in general terms while stopping short of specifics.
In an October 2024 appearance on the "Inside of You" podcast, he was asked about the toughest time of his life. His answer was direct.
"Probably the loss of a relationship with my daughter."
When pressed on whether the situation caused him pain, he reframed it. He described it not as pain but as "a sadness for the most likely misunderstandings we'll all have forever because we're human."
In a separate interview on the "Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson" podcast in April, he pushed back against the word "estranged," insisting the relationship was "only complicated through outside eyes... because they don't get any of it." But in the same conversation, he described himself as a "car wreck" of a father and said he took "full responsibility" for being "not to be depended on emotionally whatsoever."
That is a striking admission from any parent. It is an especially loaded one when it comes months before your daughter's wedding, a wedding you then do not attend, and your five-year-old grandson fills the role you might have held.
Rhodes is Emma Roberts' son with ex-partner Garrett Hedlund. The Page Six report names Hedlund only as Rhodes' father and Emma's ex. No details about his attendance or involvement in the wedding appeared in the coverage.
The focus, instead, landed squarely on the boy in the white tux and the grandfather who was not there. Photos from the ceremony showed Rhodes at his mother's side for the walk, though the outlet did not specify who originally published the images.
Emma Roberts, best known for her roles in "American Horror Story" and "Scream Queens," did not comment publicly on her father's absence. She did not need to. The image of a kindergartner escorting his mother past the guests, past his great-aunt Julia Roberts, past a crowd that apparently did not include his grandfather, said enough on its own.
What makes this story land harder than the usual celebrity-family gossip is that Eric Roberts has not denied the distance. He has not blamed his daughter. He has not claimed a scheduling conflict or a misunderstanding about the date. He called himself unreliable. He said the loss of the relationship was the hardest thing he has lived through. And then, when the wedding came, he was not in Idaho.
The specific reason for his absence remains unstated. Whether he was invited at all is unclear. Page Six did not report either detail, and Eric Roberts' statement did not address it. The gaps are conspicuous, but they are gaps, not confirmed facts.
What is confirmed: a five-year-old boy did the job. Rhodes walked his mother to the man she chose, in a state far from Hollywood, wearing a tux that matched the occasion. His grandfather watched from somewhere else entirely.
Family is built by the people who show up. Rhodes showed up.
