Cole Sprouse shares moment he knew his mum was ‘grappling with mental illness and drug abuse’
Cole Sprouse has opened up about his relationship with his mother and how it affected him growing up.
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Sprouse opened up about his 'narcissistic' mother and reflected on his childhood experiences.
Sprouse has been on our television screens for decades now - from his appearance on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in 2005, launching him to fame, all the way through to Riverdale in 2017.
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However, on the recent podcast episode, he opened up about how everything was not always as it may have seemed for him in the world of showbiz.
Despite never being forcibly pushed into acting, Sprouse explained that he 'unconsciously' did it to provide for his family.
"I would hardly call it pushing because I was eight months old." he said.
He added: "Single mom, two twin boys, put food on the table, so the choice never really existed."
Podcast host, Steven Bartlett, then asked Sprouse some more about his journey into the acting industry, namely focusing on the relationship he had with his mother and how it has since impacted him.
"Your journey with your mother," Bartlett began, "you're very young, you don't know what's going on, you're acting, you're doing these things.
"At some point in your adolescence or beyond, you figure out that this is not normal behaviour."
"This is not acceptable behaviour for a mother and a son - when was that?"
Sprouse then replied: "I guess when social services came knocking is usually when it happened."
He described his mother as 'a person that grapples with mental illness, drug abuse, but primarily narcissism'.
"A wicked narcissism." he added, "That just doesn't work with being a mother, with being a family in general."
He also accused her of 'living vicariously through the success of her children'.
Sprouse went on to explain how the court handled his family: "The United States legal system is incredibly biased towards the mother in cases of divorce and custody."
"And," he continued, "in this case, it certainly should have been my father taking custody."
He also said that the legal system found that his mother 'unfit' to raise her children, which led to the court needing to 'step in'.
Previously chatting on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Cole has, however, revealed that getting on board withThe Suite Life was a 'life-changing' show and went on to benefit both himself and his twin brother Dylan.
Sprouse said it provided him and his brother with 'stability and consistency' when they 'really needed' it.
Rhiannon Ingle