STAR’S FORGOTTEN FATHER
Ryan’s relationship troubles aren’t the only family sadness the actor is trying to keep secret – he’s also hiding a heartbreaking rift with his father.
The Hollywood hunk was just 12 when he, his mother Donna and his big sister Mandi (his date at this year’s Oscars) moved from Canada to Florida in 1993 so he could star in The All New Mickey Mouse Club.
The trio cut off all contact with Ryan’s father Tom, who Donna divorced a year later, and family insiders say the split devastated paper-factory worker Tom, who believed his marriage was sacrificed for his son’s show business career. Speaking exclusively to
Woman’s Day, Tom’s friend Brian Lefave tells, “Ryan and Donna went to the US – the next thing you know, the parents split up. It cost Tom his marriage. The kids wouldn’t talk to him for years. It was really hard on him, not speaking to his boy. When she moved to Florida, she was seeing someone down there.”
Ryan has made trips back to his hometown of Cornwall, Ontario, even bringing Eva to visit, but the actor prefers to stay with his uncle Billy rather than his father.
Brian, who communicated with Tom via email until 2012, tells how the Crazy, Stupid,
Love star had a strictt Mormon upbringing and how the silenttype characters he often plays in moviess are inspired by his father who is “private, reserved and doesn’t say a great deal”.
Since Ryan became a father, the rift has softened slightly, with the actor resuming fitful communication with his dad to discuss the births of his girls Esmeralda and Amada.
Another colleague of Tom’s adds, “It’s sad for Tom. He’s proud of his son, but he doesn’t really like to talk about him.”