Robert De Niro Jokes That Fatherhood Is Rough: ‘Sometimes You Want to Kill’ Your Kids

Talk about honesty! Robert De Niro is all about his six kids, but he has no problem at all revealing how tough it has truly been raising the bunch.

“I love my children, just being with them,” the 75-year-old told Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 24, at the Tribeca Film Festival opening night premiere of The Apollo. “ [But] It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s fun and you love your kids, and sometimes you want to kill them!”

“Then, when you have the good moments, you forget about the ones that weren’t good,” the actor added. The Taxi Driver star had child No. 1, a son named Raphael, with his first wife, Diahnne Abbot, in 1976. The Oscar winner also adopted Diahnne’s daughter, Drena, from a previous relationship.

Seven years after splitting from Diahnne in 1988, he welcomed more kids — twin sons Julian and Aaron — via surrogate with his girlfriend, Toukie Smith, in 1995. Grace Hightower, who the Goodfellas star married in 1997, welcomed their son Elliot in 1998, and their daughter Helen in 2011 — the latter via surrogate. The pair parted ways in late 2018.

At the time of the news, a source told Life & Style that Robert was not happy at all that Grace, 64, was using all of his cash. “She was spending his money like there was an endless supply,” the insider said. “Bobby’s definitely made some movies just to pay the bills.”

“Grace and I have two beautiful children together,” the Hollywood legend told Us Weekly in a statement after news of the split was revealed. “We are entering a period of transition in our relationship, which is a difficult but constructive process. I honor Grace as a wonderful mother and ask for privacy and respect from all as we proceed to develop our roles as partners in parenting.”

Well, we know that both Robert and Grace are seeing their kids as often as they can!