Oscar De La Hoya opened up about why he let Travis Barker raise daughter Atiana in the Olympian’s absence.
“I basically ran away,” De La Hoya, 50, said on the Thursday, July 20, episode of the “Allison Interviews” podcast. “I was scared. I was fearful.”
De La Hoya welcomed Atiana, now 24, in 1999 with ex Shanna Moakler. One year after their daughter’s birth, the former boxer and Moakler, 48, called it quits in 2000 after four years together. In 2004, Moakler moved on and tied the knot with Barker, 47. As Moakler and Barker began their family, the Blink 182 drummer stepped up to act as a father figure to Atiana.
“I did try to be a father full-time for a few years, and it was beautiful,” De La Hoya admitted. “It was amazing to raise a little girl, but there came a point where you ask yourself, ‘Wait a minute, you’re not worthy of this.’ You try to convince yourself that you’re not worthy of this, that love is not possible in your life because of what I lived — of not receiving that love when I was a kid.”
De La Hoya revealed his anxieties about parenthood stemmed from his difficult relationship with his own parents. The retired athlete claimed that his mom and dad never told him they loved or hugged him and would “get hit” whenever he would cry.
“I know I am this nice guy and I know I can be a father but then there comes a point where it’s like you try to convince yourself … this is not you this is scary,” he recalled. “You’re not worthy of giving love.”
During the time Atiana was under the care of Moakler and Barker, De La Hoya put his focus on boxing, which he credits with keeping him “in line.” However, De La Hoya confessed he did check on his little girl every so often.
“I was always there, but not there, you know? It wasn’t your typical relationship with the father and the mother there 24/7,” he said on Thursday. “It wasn’t like that, but obviously, she is my daughter and I…
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