Growing up in poverty as one of four boys, Charles Barkley’s life was full of hardship. From struggling to make ends meet to navigating a fractured family, young Chuck faced hurdles most wouldn’t dare imagine. But it wasn’t just poverty that shaped him; it was the fractured relationship he shared with his stepfather. Now, six decades later, Barkley has finally spoken openly about him.

‘Sir Charles’ appeared on the Tim Green – Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, where he was asked about his relationship with his stepfather. “Oh, I hated him. He was an awful person, he was an awful person, you know? He was not a good person, and I didn’t shed a tear when he died,” Chuck said.

What fueled this animosity?

“He didn’t treat my mom great, he didn’t treat us great, and um, I did not shed the tear when he passed away.” He went on, reflecting on his family dynamics: “You know I was really, really close to my mother and grandmother. They tried the best they could raising three boys—uh, four boys total—and my stepdad was not a good person at all.” His love and respect for the women who raised him contrasted starkly with his feelings about his stepfather.

Sadly, the issues didn’t stop there. Barkley’s biological father had also failed him. His parents divorced when he was just one, leaving his mother and grandmother to shoulder the burden of raising four boys. The pain of his father’s abandonment remained fresh for years.

On 60 Minutes interview, Barkley shared how deeply his father’s empty promises affected him. “I was very angry. And I was even angrier ’cause he kept sayin’ he was gonna send us money, and he didn’t do it,” Barkley admitted. “I was standin’ by the mailbox, like, once every three or four months [waiting for checks].”

However, his mother and grandmother worked tirelessly and helped him become what he is today.

How Charles Barkley’s mother and grandmother raised him

Growing up in the small town of Leeds, Alabama, Charles Barkley faced more than his fair share of challenges. His father, Frank Barkley, left the family after divorcing Barkley’s mother, Charcey Glenn. While his mother remarried, life didn’t get much easier—his stepfather passed away in an accident, leaving his mom and grandmother to shoulder the responsibility of raising him.

Barkley’s relationship with his biological father was anything but smooth. “I hated my father for a long time,” Barkley shared during a 60 Minutes interview.

His dad moved to California, far from Alabama, and left young Charles feeling abandoned. Reflecting on his childhood struggles, Chuck recounted, “We were really poor. To make ends meet, [my grandmother] sold alcohol in the house.” Those weekends often turned chaotic, with card games and alcohol-fueled fights. “I thought that was normal stuff,” he admitted.

But the emotional burden didn’t stop there. For years, Barkley clung to the hope that his father would support them financially. Sadly, the checks never came. Instead, his family relied on his grandmother’s resilience. “She’d bring a big bag of chicken feet … there’s a little puffer meat that puffs out. You can’t eat any part of the chicken finger except this little ball right here. But you’d have to eat–not even exaggerating—50 [to] 60 to get a full meal!” the Sixers legend recounted in the podcast.

Charles Barkley’s story is more than one of triumph—it’s a testament to the strength and sacrifices of the women who raised him and his relentless pursuit of greatness despite the hardships.