Learning through experience. Chris Kirkpatrick candidly discussed how his journey as a father has been shaped by his own childhood.
“Being a dad — that’s the challenge. Knowing how I grew up — I grew up very poor with nothing and my kid doesn’t have to work for anything,” the singer, 51, who shares 5-year-old son Nash with wife Karly Skladany, exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut. “And every time we go out, I’m always like, ‘Yeah, let me get you this!’”
Kirkpatrick continued: “He comes home [and] he has like eight toy rooms in our house. So, I think [being a father] is trying to put the values in him that I had. But [at the same time], I still let him know, ‘All of the stuff you are getting is because we love you.’ [It is] not because if he acts like he deserves it it stops.”
The Pennsylvania native, who is best known for being the founding member of 90s hit boyband NSYNC, went on to share his child’s reaction to his career.
“He’s starting to [understand what I do]. But I think he thinks that it’s normal. He’s like, ‘Oh yeah, this is a regular thing. Everybody’s dad does this. Or people stop everyone’s dad everywhere and ask for pictures,’” he shared with Us.
As his son begins to grasp his dad’s icon status, Kirkpatrick is enjoying watching hit little one grow up. The “Bye Bye Bye” artist gushed about getting to watch his son get older, adding, “He learned the word ‘jealous’ the other day and it cracked me up because he’s like, ‘Dad, I’m jealous.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, what does that mean?’”
During his appearance at ’90s Con this month, the songwriter reflected on the lessons he learned from his time with NSYNC.
“I heard [this] advice when I was in the band before from I want to say Jordan Knight. And I didn’t abide by it that much — it was to just know your power and know what you have going on,” he continued. “At the time, we were just in it and living it and having a blast and when it stopped, I was like, ‘Oh, so what do I do now?’ Where I wish I had a game plan going forward.”
Since rising to stardom, Kirkpatrick has enjoyed getting to meet fans of the band over the years. The Celebrity Big Brother alum revealed that nothing could stop him from attending a convention dedicated to those who love his music — not even a personal injury.
“I had rotator cuff surgery last week, so I’m supposed to have a different thing on, and I’m probably not supposed to be doing stuff like this. But you can’t miss ’90s Con,” he joked to Us about traveling shortly after the health scare.
With reporting by Stephanie Webber
