Trigger Warning: This article contains references to suicide
Giancarlo Esposito, the American actor best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad was married to Joy McManigal. They were married for 20 years before their 2015 divorce. However, regardless of their split, he remains a dedicated father and always speaks about how his children have changed his life for the better.
Esposito appeared as Gus Fring on 26 episodes of Breaking Bad. Then went on to reprise the role on the prequel series Better Call Saul for 34 episodes. Esposito was six when his family moved to Manhattan. His life has not been an easy path. He previously said he went through two bankruptcies before landing Breaking Bad, as well as a foreclosure on his home. The actor even thought of committing suicide.
Giancarlo Esposito Opens Up About Relationship With Jis Kids
Giancarlo Esposito shares his four girls with ex-wife Joy McManigal- Shayne, 27, Kale Lyn, 26, Ruby, and Syr Lucia, 23. And he has a “great relationship” ith all four daughters.
During an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show, the actor discusses his journey as a single dad.
“I would say I’m a single dad but I’m not really, because they have a great Mama Joy,” Esposito stated. “And she has shown up for them and has really been the one, in so many ways, we’ve raised them together.”
He also said that he still looks at his daughters as if they are some 2,3 years old. No matter what, they share a sincere relationship, he said.
“But I say she’s put in the time because you know what we do. And then when I finally woke up and when I want to have a sincere relationship, which I’ve always had with my daughters, I realized I was still looking at them as if they were 3, 4, 5, years old.”
The Gentleman star also said that they only want his presence in their life though he keeps asking them what they want in life. “And I started to listen to who they really are and I would always tell them, ask for what you want in life. And then I had to realize that they’re asking me to be present for them.”
However, he said that despite his great relationship with his four daughters, he nowadays shows less about his own life and who he was.
“So I have a great relationship with my four daughters. I always have but now it’s deepening because I’m not afraid to show them who I really am. And who I have been in my life,” he added.
Eventually, he comes to realize he can be more human around them.
“Sometimes we shield our children from who we’ve been,” he explained.
He added, “We change as human beings from day to day and from year to year, and hopefully we grow. If we have shame surrounding any part of who we have been and don’t want to talk about it, then that’s a little bit of a problem because you’re still wearing a mask, and you’re still hiding.”
In October 2022, Giancarlo Esposito told Best Self about being a father to four daughters. He said that his girls have helped him reshape his relationship with himself, his lineage, and others and added that “that’s a beautiful thing.”
Bankrupt Giancarlo Esposito Once Planned His Own Murder
Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito recently opened up about how he went through real financial struggles and mental challenges before finding success in Hollywood. And it was such a tough time, that he actually considered killing himself so his family could get insurance money.
“That’s how low I was,” the 65-year-old actor, said during a recent episode of SiriusXM’s “Jim and Sam Show.”
“My way out in my brain was…’Hey, do you get life insurance if someone commits suicide? Do they get the bread?’ My wife had no idea why I was asking this stuff. I started scheming. If I got somebody to knock me off, death by misadventure, [my kids] would get the insurance. I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life. It was a hard moment in time. I literally thought of self-annihilation so they could survive. That’s how low I was.”
However, he later realized his children couldn’t afford to live without him.
“The pain I would cause them would be lifelong, and there’d be lifelong trauma that would just extend the generational trauma I’m trying to move away from,” he said. “The light at the end of the tunnel was Breaking Bad.”
Recently, we have seen him in popular series like The Mandalorian, Godfather of Harlem, The Boys, Kaleidoscope, and Abigail. Up next, he will be starring in the films MaXXXine, the Russo Brothers’ sci-fi adventure The Electric State, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, and James Franco’s The Long Home. He’ll also star in the Netflix mystery show The Residence.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is having suicidal thoughts, anxiety, going through depression, or is suffering from a serious mental illness, reach out to a nearby doctor, mental health expert, or an NGO for immediate help. There are several helplines available for the same.
