Mel Gibson: Born Again At 53 - page 2

5 months ago 06th Jun 08:15

He said: "This is true. We're going to have a child. I guess I'm Octo-Mel."

Although Mel insists he couldn't be happier, friends claim the Russian singer's pregnancy came as a bit of a shock and the timing of the announcement was all wrong.

"Mel would rather all the speculation surrounding his split with Robyn was over before Oksana fell pregnant," one said, "but you can't always control nature."

Mel - who is still living separately from Oksana - is also said to be stressing over the divorce settlement as he knows how much it may cost him.

Under US law, 52-year-old Robyn could be entitled to half of Mel's $850 million fortune which includes a $26 million Catholic church in California, a private island in Fiji, a ranch in Costa Rica and several properties in Malibu.

With everything that's going on his life, it's little wonder that Mel is doing everything he can to erase unwanted stress and has splashed out $100,000 on a machine to help him cope with his eventful private life.

A source said: "Most people would look at the flow machine and think Mel has lost his mind. You lie on this machine and strap your feet in. The device then emits some kind of torsion field waves that are supposed to unlock clogged energy which eases psychological tension. It is pretty weird, but Mel swears by it."

Although the stress seems to be getting to Mel now, more and more controversy has followed him for the past few years.

In 2006 he was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and his behaviour which followed saw him upset many of his followers.

He was forced to apologise for making anti-Semitic remarks during the arrest and was also accused of calling a female police officer "Sugar t*ts'.

Mel denied saying this but has gone on to say he wished he had because it was "funny".

However, his peers don't seem to want him to let him forget the unfortunate incident and still won't let him live the remark down.

During an awards ceremony last week, Mel presented an award to Brad Pitt, to which the Hollywood heartthrob replied: "Thanks Sugar t*ts!"

Although his behaviour caused entertainment for many, the 'Mad Max' actor - who started drinking at the age of 13 - has previously admitted he struggles to stay sober.

He said: "The risk of everything - life, limb, family - is not enough to keep you from it… You cannot do it of yourself. And people can help, yeah. But it's God. You've got to go there. You've got to do it. Or you won't survive…This whole experience in a way, for me, I'm sort of viewing it now as a kind of a blessing because, firstly, I got stopped before I did any real damage to anyone else. Thank God for that. I didn't hurt myself, you know. I didn't leave my kids fatherless… The other thing is sometimes you need a cold bucket of water in the face to sort of snap to because you're dealing with a sort of a malady of the soul, an obsession of the mind and a physical allergy."

While his personal life grabs all the headlines it's easy to forget that Mel is still a major Hollywood player. Although he hasn't starred in a film since 2002's 'Signs', he has produced and directed some huge movies including 2004's controversial 'The Passion of the Christ'. He also became the sixth actor-turned-director to win a Best Director Academy Award for 'Braveheart', so has the respect of fans and critics alike. He is currently filming 'Edge of Darkness', which marks his first starring role since 2002, so his professional life is getting as full as his personal one.

But his main focus will be on his family life. As he prepares for the birth of his eighth child, Mel - who has also become close to Oksana's 12-year-old son Alexander with ex-partner Timothy Dalton - also has to concentrate to rebuilding the relationship with his existing children.

Sources claim they are still "furious" with their dad for the breakdown of the marriage and are struggling to cope with the news of Oksana's pregnancy.

"The children are totally furious about the collapse of their parents' marriage," his Malibu neighbour said, "None of them are talking to their dad right now. They are very upset."

So while Mel has managed to get himself out of many scrapes before, winning back the love and respect of the children who are feeling their mother's pain is an altogether different task. Seeing how he handles this as well as the responsibility of a newborn baby will whether he really is cut out for the role of movie star and Octo-Mel.

By Kate Randall