Harry Hamlin Acknowledges He ‘Wasn’t Always Present’ for Son Dimitri
Harry Hamlin shared insights into his relationship with his son, Dimitri, revealing that he wasn’t always a hands-on father.
The L.A. Law star, 73, discussed Dimitri, 44, during the March 7 episode of his and his wife Lisa Rinna’s podcast, “Let’s Not Talk About the Husband.”
“My son Dimitri, who is the light of my life, is now in his 40s. He was born in 1980,” Hamlin remarked. “His mother, Ursula Andress, and I were only together for a couple of years. She took him back to Italy and raised him there without me, as I was living in the United States while she was in Italy.”
Hamlin mentioned that he and Dimitri would visit each other occasionally, but he wasn’t always present in his son’s life.
“I missed him during his childhood,” he explained. “I was absent for his school plays, soccer games, and I couldn’t help him with homework or guide him through bullying at school.”
Rinna, 61, noted that her husband frequently engaged in long phone conversations with Dimitri, yet Hamlin acknowledged that this could not replace physical presence.
“I was always a part of his life, but I wasn’t there consistently, and he suffered due to it,” he stated. “He has dealt with issues because of that.”
When Rinna and Hamlin welcomed their daughters, Delilah Belle, 26, and Amelia Gray, 23, the Mad Men actor stated that his experience with Dimitri helped shape the kind of parent he aimed to be.
“When our kids were born, especially with Delilah, I resolved, ‘I am going to be there throughout her childhood. I won’t leave,’” Hamlin recounted. “I decided, ‘I’ll stay in L.A. to work. I won’t go on location to places like Toronto or Sydney or wherever.’”
However, around that same time, many productions moved to locations like Atlanta due to tax incentives, which limited Hamlin’s options in L.A.
“The entire industry effectively left L.A. in 1998,” he explained. “This resulted in me taking a break for 20 years while we raised our kids. During that time, we also became quite entrepreneurial.”
The couple went on to share their journey in starting their clothing boutique, Belle Gray, which helped support them while they acted less frequently. They later launched a QVC collection, and Rinna has since developed her own beauty line.
