"Kicked out"... Actor Lee Ho-cheol, who opened up about his family background, has not seen his mother in over two years

Actor Lee Ho-cheol revealed that his parents divorced when he was young, sharing details of his family life.

In an episode of SBS's "My Unpretty Little Rascal" broadcast on the 25th, actors Bae Jeong-nam, Hoon Bong-sik, and Lee Ho-cheol were shown heading to Daegu.

On the show, Lee Ho-cheol said, "It has been more than two years since I last saw my mother." He explained that after his parents divorced when he was five, he lived with his mother, who ran a skewer stall, and later moved in with his grandmother, who grew tomatoes, during which time they struggled financially.

Lee Ho-cheol said, "Because we had no rice, I ate noodles worth 300 won for a whole week," adding, "I got so sick of them that I didn't eat noodles until my mid-30s. I grew up in my grandmother's care, but her health deteriorated and there was no one else to raise me, so my mother came to take me back."

He continued, "Since my mother raised me on her own, how could I have gone to college? I went straight to a metalworking factory. It was very difficult," recalling the time by saying, "My mother told me to go, but I simply couldn't do it. When I was 19, while other kids were worrying about which university to attend, would I have wanted to?"

Shin Dong-yeop expressed sympathy, saying, "There must have been so many hardships that were hard to put into words."

Lee Ho-cheol confessed, "My mother said she would manage the money if I brought it home, but I said I would save up and handle things on my own. From then on, our relationship with my mother deteriorated. She didn't even give me food, and rather than moving out independently, I was naturally kicked out."

When Hoon Bong-sik asked, "Did you become distant from your mother after that?" Lee Ho-cheol replied, "I only contacted her during holidays and did not visit my mother separately. It seems there were many things in the past that hurt me."

He said he had recently spoken with his mother on the phone. His mother mentioned that a polyp was found in her colon following a health checkup, and Lee Ho-cheol shared, "I felt worried for no reason and missed her," asking Bae Jeong-nam and Hoon Bong-sik for help. Bae Jeong-nam responded, "Are you hesitant to go alone?" expressing empathy with Lee Ho-cheol's feelings.