Paul Anka Opens Up About His 'Close' Bond with Son Ethan, 20, and Raising Him as a Single Dad (Exclusive)
- - Paul Anka Opens Up About His 'Close' Bond with Son Ethan, 20, and Raising Him as a Single Dad (Exclusive)
Rachel DeSantisFebruary 14, 2026 at 12:11 AM
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Paul Anka at home in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026
Brian Bowen Smith
Paul Anka opens up about his "close" bond with son Ethan, 20
Anka talks about how he's doing fatherhood differently this time around after raising six daughters
Anka's new album Inspirations of Life and Love is out now
Paul Anka knows how to entertain a crowd, having been a performer for nearly 70 years. But at home, he’s just Dad to his 20-year-old son Ethan.
Anka, a father of six, opens up to PEOPLE ahead of the release of his new album Inspirations of Life and Love (out now) and raising Ethan as a single dad, and how they share a special bond.
“He’s my buddy. We’re so close. You hear that it keeps you younger — it does,” he says. “And I love it.”
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Anka won custody of Ethan in 2017 following a legal battle with ex-wife Anna Åberg. But the “My Way” singer and songwriter was no stranger to fatherhood; by the time Ethan came along, he and his late ex-wife Anne de Zogheb had already raised five daughters: Alexandra, 59, Amanda, 57, Alicia, 55, Anthea, 54, and Amelia, 48.
“We do a lot of things together. I like the fact, unfortunately and fortunately, that I can put all that time into him that I couldn’t with my girls,” Anka says. “I look at it as, I did the best I could. But with him now, I see the other side.”
Paul Anka at home in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026.
Brian Bowen Smith
Anka knows he’s seen a lot of things. And in raising his son, the star says he does his best to impart as much wisdom as he can “without hovering, because I’m very liberal in the sense that they figure it out and they have the capability of figuring it out.”
The music legend enjoys hosting Ethan and his friends for poker nights, and loves listening in on what the younger generation is interested in and talking about. When he hits the road on tour starting in March, Ethan and company will join him.
“It totally keeps me young. I love it, because I get all the information. I take them on the road with me,” he says.
For now, Anka and Ethan will have plenty of time to keep seeing the world on tour. Anka says he has no plans to retire, as he wants his career to be "inspirational."
“I don’t live my age. I never have,” he says. “Age doesn’t matter. I think the fact that I’m doing it is what’s keeping me healthy. If you stand still, they’ll throw dirt on you. You have to keep doing it.”
For more on Paul Anka, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere now, or subscribe here.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
