In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Robin talked about the couple’s struggle as he tried to make it as an artist, as well as his attempt to be better at something than his superstar father Alan Thicke. He also revealed that Paula dated him on the low because of his race, and she wouldn’t take him to her senior prom.
The funny thing is, in high school she didn’t take me to prom because she didn’t want everyone to know she was with a white dude because she was president of the Black Student Union. I was a secret. She didn’t want to show up with a white guy. Funny right?
Here is more highlights from the interview:
On wanting to beat his father, Alan Thicke, at something: I think subliminally, [because] my dad was so good at everything – He was very charming, he was very beloved. he was getting all the chicks – but yet he wasn’t very good at marriage. So, the one thing I said to myself [that I knew I could] beat my dad at, I’ll beat him at a relationship. I’ll make my relationship last longer than he did, and that will be the one thing in my life that I did than my pops.
On how old he was when he met Paula We were 14. We dated for a little bit, then we broke up, and then we got back together. Its been like 20 years.
On what they fight about Oh man! Everything. […] When you have money problems. Sometimes money can just get rid of a lot of problems, you don’t have to worry about the mortgage or the taxes or the bills that are coming. That gives you a chance to focus on being together, but when you are always worried about how you’re going to make that next payment and all those things, it’s hard to just focus on the love part.
On his debut album not doing as well, while Paula started blowing up The first album that I put out was the hardest one to get out. I was so afraid of failing that I waited from 16 to 23, 7 years to even put the album out. So then I’m 23, I put the album out finally and what does it do? It doesn’t sell any records. It’s critically-acclaimed but doesn’t sell any records. So the balloon pops, everything that I was afraid of happening. Then, for the next 3 years I struggled with believing in myself and had some problems and started drinking. Tried yoga a few times with my wife, side-by-side. Trying to find God. Then right after my album [is released, my wife decides] that she wants to be an actress, instead of a filmmaker. Now she’s doing love scenes, and I have a failed album… but it ended up making me a good man. Luckily, after 10 years of that, I’m like, ‘Oh heck! Go have a good time, see you when you get home.’
On his long hair phase I was going through a hippie phase. It was free love up at our house. We were just having a great time and I remember telling myself, when I committed myself to making only my music. I stopped writing for other people. I said I was going to put all my time into my own music and I’m not going to cut my hair until I hear my song on the radio. So it took two years, and I’m just walking around with a lama on my head.
On his son having blonde hair My kid, he looks like you and the cutest thing about my little kid is that he keeps looking in the mirror and saying ‘My hair is getting darker Daddy. It’s getting darker,’ and I’m like ‘Why do you want your hair to be dark?’ and he is like ‘To look like you and mommy.’ He’s got the blondest hair you’ve ever seen. Paula’s mom is blonde, my mom is blonde and I was a blonde baby, so I guess its a blonde gene.
If he’s seen any money from ‘Blurred Lines’ It will come in a few months and all of the offers that are coming in are wonderful. For me, I’d already done everything else I wanted to do as an artist and made the great music I wanted to make. I’ve made five albums of gut-wrenching, diary-type introspective music, and I was sitting here at 36 years old, like ‘God am I really going to end up [just having] mediocre success?’ So, this has just given me a plateau to have my music heard in the future.
Who he’d send the biggest ‘f-ck you’ to now that he’s finally got his #1 Probably my dad, but in a loving way. He’s the most important person in my life in that way, he’s my idol. To be able to go, ‘I told you I was going to f-cking make it one day…’ So, we celebrate together but it’s like, I showed my dad.
On what keeps him grounded You know what helps alot? It’s the little kid, the 3 year old. His presence, because honestly, if not I’d be ready to go out every night, right now to celebrate. But instead, I celebrate by hanging out with my kid, putting hm to bed and then being with my wife and dancing around the room and just being like, ‘We made it. We did it!’
