Meat Loaf daughter Amanda Aday shares who her father was off stage and at home: ‘He was just dad’

Days after his death from Covid-19 complications, Meat Loaf’s daughter Amanda Aday is sharing memories of her beloved rock star father. 

In a statement obtained by People, the 41-year-old actress recalled the contrast between her father as a public figure and a hands-on parent.

She described their touring and home lives as ‘dichotomous’ and said when they weren’t on the road ‘he wasn’t Meat Loaf anymore,’ but rather, ‘it was home and he was just dad.’

The My Name is Earl star used to tour with her famous father and said she had ‘amazing experiences’ tagging along at arenas and on tour buses. 

But when he wasn’t in the public eye or performing his hit songs, he was a quintessential dad who coached softball teams and directed school plays.

‘If we didn’t get good grades, we were grounded, and all of that stuff,’ she told the publication, adding, ‘So, it was very much, when we weren’t out on tour living this crazy life, it was very important to him that we were grounded in our home.’ 

Balanced: The 41-year-old actress recalled the contrast between her dad as a public figure and a hands-on parent, calling the separate lives ‘dichotomous’

Furthermore, she noted that her dad didn’t liked to be called a rock star. 

Aday said of her dad ‘He would want me to say, “I’m not a rock star. I’m not a legend. I’m a singer, I’m an actor, I’m a lot of things, but I’m not those two words.”‘

She remembers her dad as a family man who loved to celebrate Christmas: ‘He would stay up all night making train sets around the Christmas tree.’

In the 80s, when she was six-year-old, she recalled, ‘He stayed up literally all night and erected an entire Playmobil city and circus underneath the Christmas tree, because that’s what he did. He was dad.’

Memories: The My Name is Earl star used to tour with her famous father and said she had ‘amazing experiences’ tagging along at arenas and on tour buses

Continuing down memory lane, the mourning daughter looked back on the time her dad’s career had been revived.

It was in 1993 when his sixth album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell reached the top of the music charts.

‘I remember we were in the hotel room and my mom just started sobbing crying, and my dad started crying. And I’m standing there going, “What? What is this? What are you guys doing?” And then, from there, he was everywhere again,’ she recounted.

In addition to Amanda Meat Loaf is survived by his daughter Pearl and wife Deborah. 

Earlier this week Pearl, 47, posted a picture of herself on Instagram hugging him onstage, writing: ‘I love you always, no matter what. I love you with my whole heart. We got you. Forever.’ 

And on Saturday night she took to social media again with an image of her dad’s back as he stood on stage holding his arms out with a crowd watching him. 

She captioned lyrics from his song Bat Out of Hell and said, ‘We love you, Dad.’