Ashton Kutcher Praises Mila Kunis in 'Character Award' Speech, Addresses Demi Moore 'Adulterer' Allegations

By
Getty Images


Ashton Kutcher
credits Mila Kunis and their two kids for helping to make him a good person.

The 39-year-old actor was honored with the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award -- which recognizes "good character as a role model" -- at the Ron Pearson Center in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, and in addition to gushing over his wife, he also opened up about a time when he had his "name splashed across every gossip magazine as an adulterer, like, five years ago."

WATCH: Scott Eastwood Reveals Shocker About Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore's Divorce

Kutcher spoke about reports that he was unfaithful to Demi Moore prior to their split in 2011, which ultimately led to their divorce in 2013. "Character comes out when those magazines tear you apart for something you may or may not have done and you gotta go out and perform tomorrow, with everyone looking at you like you might be an adulterer," he told the crowd. "I had the great fortune of getting a divorce because I felt the impact of it and how much loss is in there and how much love is in there and that its not neat or clean or messy. And I understood finally my parents' divorce in a whole different way."

Getty Images

The former Two and a Half Men star also jokingly noted in his speech that he might be the first person honored with the award who was also arrested when they were 18 for "felony burglary" -- which allegedly occurred when the Cedar Rapids native tried to break into his high school -- and being "pulled over by a state trooper while tripping on mushrooms."


MORE: Ashton Kutcher Says Demi Moore's Daughters Helped Prepare Him for Fatherhood

"It's not whether you win or lose," he said of his missteps in the past. "It's how you learn from the mistakes that you make and how you perceive the world that's coming at you."

Kutcher dedicated the award to wife Kunis, who he said "kicks my a** on character every day."


WATCH: Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Adorably Announce Lineup at Dodgers Playoff Game

He even admitted that he got called out on his character that morning. "I thought I was awesome because I got up early and helped with the kids before she woke up and I let her sleep a little bit," he shared. "Then she's like, 'Well, now you're gonna act tired? I do it every day.' But it was a character moment, right? Because she's right!"

Instagram

Kutcher went on to gush over 2-year-old daughter Wyatt and 4-month-old son Dimitri, calling fatherhood, "The greatest, greatest lesson in character in my life."


WATCH: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher All Smiles in First Sighting Since Welcoming Son Dimitri

"When my wife and I had these kids and we got to share that amazing, amazing, amazing honor, my first response was, I wanted to call my parents and say, 'I'm sorry, because I never knew how much you loved me,'" he recalled.

Kutcher also credited his brother, Michael Kutcher, for teaching him about love and acceptance. "My brother was born with cerebral palsy and it taught me that loving people isn't a choice and that people aren't actually all created equal," he said, getting emotional. "The Constitution lies to us. We're not all created equal. We're all created incredibly unequal to one another, in our capabilities and what we can do and how we think and what we see. But we all have the equal capacity to love one another, and my brother taught me that."

WATCH: Find Out What Ashton Kutcher Wanted to Name His Baby Boy (Before Mila Kunis 'Knocked Down' The Idea)

ET recently caught up with Kunis -- who married Kutcher in July 2015 -- at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, and she talked about being happy with the size of her family right now.

"We're solid. It's perfect, it's like, great, you know?" she shared. "I have two really healthy, really wonderful kids. Why test my luck?" Here's more of ET's interview with the 33-year-old actress:

Related Gallery