Rob Schneider is holding out hope that his strained relationship with daughter Elle King can one day be repaired, saying his Christian faith is helping him navigate the family rift through love, forgiveness and a willingness to keep the door open.

During an appearance on Andrew Gold’s “Heretics” podcast, the 62-year-old comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” star spoke candidly about his estrangement from King, 37, and acknowledged his own shortcomings as a father.

Schneider recalled previously admitting publicly that he “wasn’t the dad” his daughter needed and said he was unprepared for the response he received from other parents who had experienced similar estrangements from their adult children.

King has previously shared a much different perspective on their relationship. During a 2024 appearance on BunnieXO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, the country singer described parts of her childhood as “toxic” and claimed there were stretches of four or five years when she and Schneider did not speak.

She also recalled spending summers with her father on movie sets, where she said she often felt overlooked, and claimed Schneider forgot her birthdays. King said she had tried different ways to repair their relationship over the years but eventually came to recognize that she could not control another person’s behavior.

“You can want someone to change so much; you can’t control anyone else’s actions,” King said. “You can’t control people’s feelings. All you can control is how you react and what you do with your feelings.”

Schneider later publicly apologized for his failures as a father. While he remains unsure whether his daughter accepted that apology, he said he wants King to know he will be there if she ever wants to reconnect.

“The door’s open, and I would say, you know, I love you and … I’m there when you want,” Schneider said. “The thing about, as a parent, you just have to love and be available and be an open door. My door’s always open.”

He stressed that repairing the relationship is not something he can force.

“The second she needs me, I’ll be there,” Schneider said. “That’s all you can do.”

Schneider also explained how his belief in a higher power has shaped the way he approaches difficult seasons in his life. Fame, success and other worldly attachments can disappear, he said, making it important to ground life in something greater.

“When things get taken away, and if that’s everything — your fame and your attachment to this stuff — if that gets taken from you, and that’s all you have, then you have nothing,” he said.

“But if you realize there is something higher than all of that and your connection to that, then at that point there’s nothing that anybody could do to you.”

For Schneider, who has publicly embraced Catholicism in recent years, Christianity has also offered a lesson in what it means to forgive and release the pain of the past.

“The thing about Christianity, it’s really … it’s love others, and it’s really about forgiveness,” he said. “And forgiveness isn’t something you give to somebody else. It’s a gift you give to yourself. You can’t carry stuff. You have to let go.”

For now, Schneider appears willing to do just that — letting go of what he cannot control while leaving the door open for his daughter. His hope is simple: remain available, continue to love King and allow reconciliation to happen on her terms.