“When we were growing up, my father would say, you know, ‘We could have nothing, but you look around in this room, your brother, your sister, and me, that’s all you’ll ever have,'” Prince, 27, told Good Morning Britain. “And that always stuck with my siblings and I, and we have such a close relationship.”

He shared that, because he was the oldest, their dad told him that he’d be responsible down the road for looking after his brother and sister. Sadly, that stop on the road came sooner than anticipated when Michael died in 2009 at the age of 50, and Prince admitted he wasn’t ready to step up.

“After his passing, and us being thrown into the ‘real world,'” he continued, “my siblings, honestly—they picked up the slack that I unfortunately left behind.”