Having one of your parents be among the world’s most beloved stars can change your life. And it’s not always sunshine and roses.
As Chet Hanks puts it, having a famous parent is a “double-edged sword.”
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He talked about growing up as the son of Tom Hanks.
It may sound like he got everything he wanted, but nothing could be further from the truth. Chet did get to travel and check into nice hotels with his dad, but his dad never just bought him everything.
Chet still had to work and earn his own money, which he said he was grateful for.
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He’s glad he wasn’t a spoiled rich kid, he says.
But Chet’s youth ended up costing him more than just money. It cost him his mental health and ability to trust people too.
All you need to do is take one look at Chet and see that he does look like the tough-guy type. He’s covered in tattoos and works out, and he says himself that he’s well aware of how he looks to other people.
But that image didn’t just appear one day. Chet developed this tough exterior so no one would mess with him.
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As a child, Chet struggled to make true friends.
His father’s fame overshadowed much of his personal life.
Many kids only befriended Chet so they could see his dad.
He was aware that very few kids, if any, actually cared about him as an individual. To them, he was still just “Tom Hanks’ son”.
And the way he coped with it became a factor in his breakup with Kiana Parker.
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The relationship ended in 2021, but not before he told her βabout how he was ignored as a child and just sad little thingsβ¦ From what he told me he had everything, but emotionally his childhood just wasnβt the best.β
Chet even disclosed the way his mother “domineered” his father for much of his life while his dad just “stood there and took it”.
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Chet revealed a lot to Kiana.
βHe actually told me that his grandmother [whoβs since passed away] raised him and all of his good memories he would tell me would be about her. not Tom and Rita.”
He was not happy with his parents at all, she claimed. He told her that they subjected him to mental abuse
One thing that gave Chet some closure was the realization that people were just jealous of him.
He didn’t mean this with a sense of arrogance, but just truthfulness.
Chet was a privileged, successful kid. Besides his famous father, he was also athletic in school and popular with girls.
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This didn’t sit well with plenty of people, and many kids grew resentful towards him out of jealousy.
Having people jealous of you may seem sound flattering, but the truth is that it can get really ugly.
He’s glad he didn’t turn into what people expected him to be: An arrogant, entitled, spoiled brat as he said in his own words.
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The reason, he suspects, was that people saw him as a threat. They “projected their insecurities” onto him which was the reason for how he was treated.
Years later, he wishes he could have told his younger self all of this.
Maybe things would have turned out differently.
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But it wasn’t all for nothing. People now know that he’s not quite like the image they had of him. An image spread by some unhelpful media outlets, no less.
Hear Chet’s candid and surprising revelations in the video below.
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