Tom Hanks’ Son Chet Admits His Biracial Daughter Saved His Life Though He Hid Her Birth For Months

Nov 26, 2021 by apost team

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are a well-known power couple in Hollywood and their lasting marriage has always appeared rock solid. A fixture in the entertainment industry for decades, they're not only known for their individual work as successful actors and filmmakers, but for their wonderful love story that really does appear as if it's straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Both show business veterans, the couple has four children together, including two sons from their union — Chet Hanks and Truman Hanks — while Tom has two children from a previous relationship, Colin Hanks and Elizabeth Hanks. Of their four children, Colin and Chet have both followed their famous parents into show business.

Chet is known for acting as well as his music career, where he raps under the name Chet Hanx. Now 31 years old, Chet has been open about his struggles in life including addiction. In fact, he's spoken openly about how his daughter Michaiah helped him get sober and turn his life around. Michaiah is biracial, with her mom being Chet's ex-girlfriend Tiffany Miles.

In a video interview with Entertainment Tonight from 2018, Chet opened up about his addiction struggles and how his daughter saved his life. He also spoke about the way his parents treat Michaiah. Chet did not reveal the birth of his daughter for some time after she was born, but when he did, he did so on his own terms on his Instagram account. He also credited his daughter for all the positive changes he was making in his life in his Instagram post. 

Tom Hanks, 65, and Rita Wilson, 64, have been married since 1988 and the couple has also managed to raise their blended family of four wonderful kids including Colin Hanks and Chet Hanks.

Of their four kids, Colin has two kids of his own — two daughters named Olivia and Charlotte — while Chet has a daughter, Michaiah, with his ex-girlfriend. Despite self-describing themselves as the "coolest grandparents," Tom joked in the same interview with ET, "I think they just put up with us." Meanwhile, Wilson added, "Sometimes they just look at us like, 'what?'"

Vanity Fair reported that Chet only revealed that he had a daughter months after she was born, and wrote in a now-removed Instagram post. "I want to share something today because it’s about to be shared in the press—which is the fact that I have a daughter. I do have a daughter. She’s the reason I’m sober. I’ve been sober a year and a half. From everything."

Chet also wrote, "I don’t share her on Instagram, I don’t post her on Instagram, because her privacy is sacred to me. She is sacred to me. She’s not something to be posted; she’s something that I love, that’s changed my life." 

Chet's also revealed in an interview that his daughter, Michaiah, who is around 5-years-old, is responsible for helping to save her dad's life. After struggling with cocaine addiction, Chet became a changed man when he learned he would be a dad. He spoke candidly to Entertainment Tonight in 2018, where he stated:

“I don’t know if I would’ve made the changes necessary, she saved my life, and when she gets older, she’ll know that.” 

apost.com

In the moving video interview, Chet talks about the music he makes with his band FTRZ and how being open about his struggles with addiction and getting sober is integral to their message. He explains that he knew he had to get sober for a while but struggled to make the changes needed to get him onto the next chapter of his life. Thankfully for him, Michaiah came along and proved to be the right motivation for him to clean up his act. He states in the interview:

"If my daughter hadn't been born there's no telling that I would have [made the decision to get sober]. I could easily be dead or in jail right now if I hadn't made that decision."

He says that speaking candidly about his addiction struggles could help somebody else on their journey, which he described as the "most rewarding and the most fulfilling" part of making his music.

He also described his parents as being fully supportive of him as he got sober and stated that he's "really lucky." On a lighter note, he explained that they absolutely adore Michaiah and love being grandparents. Since he was close to his own grandparents, Chet loves that his daughter gets to have the same experience with his parents. He also added that the famous couple offers to babysit "all the time." 

However, there is one thing that his daughter is missing — her own doll of Woody from "Toy Story," which Tom famously voiced. Once he realized, Chet added that it absolutely needs to happen. We can't agree more! 

Did you know that Chet Hanks had a daughter? What do you think about Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson being doting grandparents? If you enjoyed this article then be sure to pass it on to others.