David Spade Doesn’t Want to Repeat the Sins of His Father

David Spade is something of a forever bachelor. Despite having gone out with a host of A-listers over the years, he has never tied the knot.

But, Spade, who finds the funny in everything, is serious about his responsibility to his daughter, Harper.

So much so that he cut ties with one of his parents for being a bad influence.

David Spade Cut Ties with His Father for His Daughter

Spade's audiobook, A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World, was an insightful read for anyone wanting to know about his family life. In the book, he went into his parenthood journey in length.

He dedicated a whole chapter to realizing his father's mistakes after having his daughter, Harper, with former partner, Jillian Grace, in 2008.

David Spade with his daughter, Harper Spade, in September 2020. (Photo: David Spade/Instagram)

His revelations hinted at how serious he was about raising his daughter the right way. Spade wanted to always be there for her.

In the chapter, he described his dad, Sam, as a "f*** up" and "a bit of a boozy Suzy." He had walked out on his kids — Spade and his two brothers — when Spade was just four years old.

The comedian only saw his father a few times in a year, and that, too, only when Sam wanted to see them. Sam's lack of interest or care in his life profoundly affected him.

"I couldn't picture my daughter being sick and calling me and me not answering," he confessed in the book. "Or just calling her without any way for her to call me."

All his manipulative behavior caused Spade to feel a "new tidal wave of resentment" when Harper came along, causing him to cut ties altogether.

He and Grace did not plan on having Harper, about which he used to get mad at himself. However, he later called her the best thing in her life.

David Spade and Daughter Harper's Relationship

As mentioned earlier, Spade and Grace did not plan on having Harper. There was even a debate on whether Grace was pregnant with Spade's child around January 2008.

When he admitted his relationship with Grace, he said he would take full responsibility for the child if it were proven it was his. She was, and so he did.

Harper was born on August 26, 2008. Spade and Grace had broken up before 2008, so she did not have a conventional family life.

But, they maintained a healthy co-parenting relationship. On her third birthday, the pair took Harper to Disneyland for celebrations.

He even kept her morale high until she was about five-and-a-half. Spade let her win every game they played until then but joked with Ellen in 2015 that he was starting to get frustrated letting her win every time.

Harper appears fairly often on her father's Instagram, but Spade has revealed little about her except funny anecdotes here and there.

She also has met his girlfriends over the years. During another conversation with Ellen in November 2019, he revealed that he and Harper had gone to Magic Mountain with his then girlfriend.