Disney star Cole Sprouse has said that he and twin brother Dylan were ‘forced’ into acting by their 'financially irresponsible’ mum.
The former Suite Life star made the accusation while appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast earlier this week and revealed that he ‘never made the decision’.
Sprouse made several surprising revelations during the tell-all interview, including telling the story of how he lost his virginity on holiday at the age of 14 and opening up about his relationship with former Riverdale co-star Lili Reinhart.
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In one revealing moment, the actor admitted he and Reinhart had caused a ‘lot of damage to each other’ during their three-year relationship.
He bluntly added: “It absolutely lasted longer because we worked together. There was a lot of pressure and I think if I had loved myself more, I would have left earlier.”
Despite this, Sprouse said his ‘greatest wound’ stemmed from his turbulent childhood, which he spent with his mother Melanie Wright.
Wright has previously claimed he and Dylan started working as child actors at just eight months old to support their family.
He told Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper: “I never made the decision to join the arts or acting specifically. And so it was never really my passion.
“My mother was an incredibly wonderful and artistic woman, but she was financially the most irresponsible woman ever."
Things became so bad, Cole claims most of the money he earned from appearances in Friends, That 70’s Show and Big Daddy was gone by the time he was ten.
Shortly after his tenth birthday, his father Matthew Sprouse gained custody of his sons.
Reflecting on his unstable childhood, he said: “I think it was the consequence of some alchemy of addiction and mental instability, and it's probably the greatest wound in my life.”
Though their father had wanted the twins to be ‘normal kids’, Cole said his work gave him 'consistency and routine' during a troubling time in his childhood.
He described landing the lead in The Suite Life Of Zack and Cody as 'life-saving'.
However, the Five Feet Apart actor did admit that his family ‘traded in’ his childhood to ensure that they were provided for and added that his parents hadn’t come from money.
He said: “I think there’s two types of kids within the child acting business.
"There's, like the ‘thespian children’ who choose to do it, and then there’s the working class kids that, in our case at least… I mean it started, really, as a means to put bread on the table.
"I know there's definitely resentment. There's definitely some things I have to work through, but no. If I were given the same choice again, I'd probably do it again.”
Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, US News, Money
Katherine Sidnell