Ashton Kutcher’s marriage to Demi Moore may have ended, but his love for her children lives on. He recently opened up about it on WTF with Marc Maron podcast.

For the record, Ashton was with Demi for 10 years – dating for two years and married for eight – from 2003 to 2013. He was in his 20s and she was 15 years older than him. Her girls – Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah – ranged in age from 12 or 13 to eight. “I was helping raise teenage girls through their adolescence,” he said. “I love them. I’m never going to stop loving them and respecting them and honoring them and rooting for them to be successful in whatever they are pursuing.”

The relationship is important to Ashton, but he knows his place. “I am not their father. I was never trying to be their father. I always had respect and honored Bruce [Willis], and I think he’s a brilliant human being and a wonderful man,” he explained. “If they don’t want an engagement with me, I’m not going to force it upon them. But they all do and it’s great.”

Source: WTF with Marc Maron