London - Millionaire author Wilbur Smith says he has no regrets about falling out with his children.
The 82-year-old claims his two sons and a daughter are more upset by the estrangement than he is because they won’t get any of his £100-million fortune.
He added: “They’re not part of me – they’ve got my sperm, that’s all.” Smith revealed he was in no rush to patch things up, preferring instead to focus on his writing and his fourth wife Niso, 43. He said: “The two things that matter to me are my good woman and my work.”
But he admitted: “I’ve been a good husband, but I was a lousy father.
“I don’t see my kids, they’re men and women in their fifties and sixties. I can be hard. I don’t want to be, but I don’t like being hurt.
“They were important to me at one point – very important – but not now. It’s sadder for them than it is for me, because they’re not getting any more money.”
He has three children from his first two marriages – Shaun, Christian and Kawrence – and has previously said of them: “It’s all about the money. If they feel they’re not getting a fair share of what they think should be theirs, that’s bad luck. They’ve done nothing to win my respect.”
Mrs Smith said her husband could be unforgiving, adding: “Wilbur is very kind, very respectful. He believes in family values – love, trust, being honourable. But if the trust is broken and people take advantage of him, he can be like a raging lion.
“I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of Wilbur then.” His motto is: ‘Revenge is a dish best eaten cold’”.
Smith, the author of more than 30 blockbuster novels, says relations with his children became strained when they lived with his ex-wives after his marriages ended.
He has said: “My relationship with their mothers broke down, and because of what the law was, they went with their mothers and were imbued with their mothers’ morality and were not my people any more.
“They didn’t work. They didn’t behave in a way I like. I’m quite a selfish person.” Smith had a turbulent love life until meeting his latest wife in 1999. He told the Sunday Times Magazine: “I’m not proud of it, but I’ve been married four times. Two of them died on me, the first one hates me and this one loves me, so I’ve covered the whole spectrum.
“I’m lonely on my own. I need a woman by my side... someone I can talk to and respect, who pays me respect when it’s due and tells me when I’m being stupid, which is far too often. I want someone who I believe in, who I think likes me and who wants me to succeed.”
Daily Mail