Towards the latter end of his life, Ryan O’Neal wanted to make amends to his incarcerated son, Redmond; however, he passed away on the 8th of December. Ryan wished he could fulfill his deathbed promise to Redmond’s mother, Farah Fawcett, to take care of him or at least apologize to Redmond for falling short of his responsibility.
Prior to his death, Ryan already acknowledged how terrible he was at parenting, “I’m a hopeless father. I don’t know why,” he told Vanity Fair. “I don’t think I was supposed to be a father. Just look around at my work — they’re either in jail or they should be. I have nice grandchildren, though.”
Ryan blamed himself for his parenting failures
A source close to Ryan revealed the actor never stopped blaming himself for how Redmond turned out, the 38-year-old who had a brush with the law before Farah died of cancer in 2009. “Ryan has made a lot of mistakes in his life, but his greatest sorrow is not being able to honor his vow to Farrah,” they claimed.
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Redmond wasn’t his only child who had issues with addiction. Tatum and Griffin, Ryan’s older children with his first wife, Joanna Moore, also struggled with addiction. Unfortunately, Redmond went down the rabbit hole, unable to get himself out till the point he was unfit for a trial of armed robbery and attempted murder.
Redmond has more to deal with
Aside from his addiction and crime struggle, Redmond’s mental health has also taken a significant hit as he has been diagnosed with severe mental health issues.
“Redmond suffers from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and antisocial personality disorder, and in his mind, his father is the devil,” the source revealed, supporting the claim Redmond refused to see his father when he visited him in the mental hospital.