One of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, Gerard Butler, feels that he has trouble finding love because of his father’s absence as a child.
Butler was raised by only his mother from the age of two. The actor didn’t have any contact with his father until the age of 16. He now believes that this absence in his life has caused him to have a tough time with women.
"I act very awkward when I am with women. Perhaps that’s because my mother brought me up alone. My father gambled away all our money and eventually went bankrupt. So one night our family had to flee head over heels to Canada. At that time my mother was five months pregnant with me. Shortly after my second birthday my father let us down. It is said that men who grow up without a father have a fear of commitment," Butler told the German magazine Joy.
Despite his troubled childhood, the 40-year-old actor would like to start a family. However, he admits that finding the right woman may be a tough job for him.
Butler has been romantically linked in the tabloids with several female stars, including Jennifer Aniston. Butler and Aniston both star in the film The Bounty, which hits theatres on March 19. He has also been involved with singer Jessica Simpson.
However, Butler insists that most of the romance rumours have been false, adding that he finds it bizarre that he has a reputation as being a lady’s man. Last year, it was reported that he was dating more than a dozen women, but he said only one was true.