Alec Baldwin Shares How the 'Baggage' from His Divorce Affects the Way He Parents His Younger 7 Kids

Alec Baldwin is reflecting on the impact his divorce has on his parenting.

On the latest episode of The Baldwins, the actor, 66, opened up about how his divorce from Kim Basinger in 2002 has impacted his life. In a confessional, Alec shared that the split "was not easy" and "unnecessarily difficult," which ultimately changed the relationship he had with his daughter Ireland Baldwin. The Beetlejuice star also shared about how his divorce impacted how he interacts with his other children.

“My divorce with Ireland's mother was not easy. It's not easy. Very lengthy, very expensive. I mean, just insanity, just insanity," Alec said in a confessional. "I was on a plane every other week for all of the school year. I flew back and forth from New York to Los Angeles 18 times a year. Got a house like eight doors down from my daughter and her mother, and then I thought that would improve things, and it did not improve things. So it became, as it still is, difficult and unnecessarily difficult that way.”

“Because my relationship with Ireland was so negatively impacted by my experience there getting divorced from her mother, that when it comes to these other kids, I bring all that baggage into this situation, sadly," he continued. "This is why I think I'm so focused on parenting to this level, if you will, being around a lot and taking them to school most days, instead of working.”

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Alec and Basinger, 71, split after more than two decades of marriage. Throughout the show, Alec has been very vocal about the ramifications of the split. On the March 2 episode of The Baldwins, the actor again reflected on how the divorce affected their daughter Ireland, 29.

“I must say that because my relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother and having a very protracted custody battle that the media really were having a party about everything,” he explained. “[It] went on for seven years, of which the financials were probably a year and a half and then everything else was custody.” 

He recalled the experience as being “just insanity and really, really tough,” adding, “One of my most regrettable things about the whole thing was how it affected Ireland.” 

Ireland was caught in the crosshairs of her parents’ split when an angry voicemail Alec left for his daughter surfaced, causing him to temporarily lose visitation rights and issue a public apology.

The 30 Rock alum later married wife Hilaria in 2012 and the pair share three daughters — Carmen Gabriela, María Lucía Victoria, and Ilaria Catalina Irena — as well as four sons — Rafael Thomas, Leonardo Ángel Charles, Romeo Alejandro David and Eduardo "Edu" Pao Lucas. Despite all that has happened, the It’s Complicated star said he now has a “good relationship” with Ireland.

“She loves the kids. I mean, she's very sweet to them, and she's their older sister, but she's not in that pack,” he shared. “This is why I think I'm so focused on [oldest daughter] Carmen and I want to have a good relationship with Carmen, because I have a girl all over again.”

The Baldwins airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.