Macaulay And Kieran Culkin’s ‘Ailing’ Mother ‘Struggling To Get By’

Patricia Brentrup, mother of actors Macaulay Culkin and Kieran Culkin, reportedly struggles with health and financial difficulties in Montana, living far from her successful sons.

Macaulay sends $1,000 monthly to help, but, according to reports,  Kieran has rarely been in contact. Brentrup’s Alzheimer’s and stroke have worsened her condition, and Mart Cox, her husband, struggles to care for her.

Despite their financial situation, Macaulay and Kieran Culkin’s stepfather shared that he understood the famous brothers may also be facing challenges of their own that have caused them to be distant.

The 70-year-old mother of Hollywood stars Macaulay (“Home Alone”) and Kieran Culkin (“Succession”) lives in stark contrast to her rich and famous sons.

Despite her sons’ success in the film industry, Brentrup and her husband, Cox, are reportedly struggling financially.

A source revealed to the Daily Mail that Brentrup and Cox, who are both retired and living on a modest 11-acre property in Billings, Montana, are facing tough times, with no steady income and a lifestyle free of modern luxuries like cell phones or the internet.

The elderly couple is described as being “poor and struggling to get by,” with the source adding that their “paychecks aren’t coming in anymore. They’re having a hard time right now. It’s tough.”

Meanwhile, Macaulay is living a life of luxury, with a reported net worth of $18 million. He resides in a sprawling $8 million mansion in Toluca Lake, California, alongside fiancée Brenda Song and their young sons, Dakota, 3, and Carson, 2.

On the other hand, Kieran is worth an estimated $5 million and lives in a three-bedroom apartment in New York with his wife, Jazz Charton, 36, and their two children.

Speaking to the news outlet, Cox shared that only Macaulay has provided financial assistance, sending them $1,000 per month to his mother.

Although he hesitated to discuss Kieran, Cox shared that despite the actor’s public praise for his mother, he has rarely been in contact since his last visit years ago.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Cox remarked, adding: “I don’t expect any help from him or nothing. And I am not a man who would ask.”

Cox shared that Kieran’s last visit occurred after Brentrup suffered severe burns in a fire at her Billings property.

Following Brentrup’s hospital release, Cox recounted an incident where he argued with the “Succession” actor while attempting to bandage her wounds.

“I was talking down to him and p-ssed him off,” he said.

Cox, who married Brentrup in 2011 after she left an abusive relationship with former actor Kit Culkin, admits that caring for his wife is increasingly difficult.

She has reportedly been battling serious health issues, including a stroke and, more recently, Alzheimer’s disease.

“Boom, it just hit, and it’s getting worse,” Cox explained. “Her mind isn’t there anymore. She has a memory of about five minutes.”

According to sources, Brentrup’s ongoing health and financial struggles have played a role in the emotional distance between her and her sons.

“They can’t afford flights, and Patricia can’t travel alone anymore,” an insider told the news outlet. “Their travels are at a standstill.”

Cox shared that he is aware of the difficulties the Culkin brothers face due to the physical and cultural distance between them and their mother, who lives in Montana.

“I think they’ve had some hard feelings about that,” he noted.

Although Cox doesn’t follow the entertainment industry or the awards season closely, he expressed pride in Kieran’s Oscar win, often reminding Brentrup of the achievement.

“I posted a picture of his acceptance speech on the fridge, so she doesn’t forget,” he said.

During a recent appearance on Kate and Oliver Hudson’s Sibling Revelry podcast, Macaulay shared details about a recent visit to his mother’s home in Montana.

He mentioned that the trip wasn’t exactly thrilling for his young children, describing their boredom with the lack of activities besides petting Cox’s horses.

“[I] was like, ‘Yeah, you’re right, that’s life from Montana,” he joked on the podcast, per the Daily Mail. “Just get to pet a horse and… it’s all you got.”

On the podcast, Macaulay also opened up about his strained relationship with his father, Kit Culkin, calling him “narcissistic” and “abusive.”

The actor revealed that he and most of his siblings have been estranged from their father for over three decades.

“One of my earliest memories of him was [thinking], ‘when I grow up, this is how I’m not going to be with my kids,'” Macaulay said.

“And now that I got kids of my own, it makes me even more, it kicks up some dust that I kinda go, ‘I can’t believe he was like that.'”

“You know, he’s a man who…had seven kids and now he has four grandkids, and, uh, none of them want anything to do with him,” Macaulay added.