Kate Hudson Opens Up About Her Estrangement from Father Bill and His Children: 'It's a 41-Year-Old Issue'

Today/YouTube Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson is opening up about her relationship with her family.

During this week's episode of Sunday Today with Willie Geist, the Music actress — who recently shared that she would like to reconnect with her estranged father Bill Hudson's children -—addressed her decision to share that part of her life publicly.

"I think that estrangement is unfortunately quite common. I think it's important for people to talk about that," Hudson, 41, explained.

"Sometimes [we] need a little bit of talk and humor to move us into places where we can heal some of the wounds," the mother of three added.

RELATED: Kate Hudson Hopes to 'Connect' with Her Estranged Father Bill's Children: 'It Would Be Nice'

In a January episode of her Sibling Revelry podcast with brother Oliver Hudson, the Fabletics mogul shared that she had been thinking about their other siblings as well as their estranged father, who was married to Goldie Hawn from 1976 to 1982.

"You know what I've been thinking about lately? Dad," she said. "I've been thinking about our sisters that we don't spend any time with and our brother — brothers. We've got four siblings we don't spend any time with."

"We've been talking so much about sibling relationships and distraught relationships or good relations — and we're sitting here like we have the best family, we're so great and yet we don't ever acknowledge the fact that we have four other siblings," she continued.

Following his divorce from Hawn, the actor went on to have two children — daughter Emily and son Zachary — with Laverne and Shirley star, and then-wife, Cindy Williams. In 2006, Bill also welcomed daughter Lalania.

Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson

Although Hudson has not always spoken publicly about her family estrangement, she clarified during her Sunday Today interview that it's weighed on her for a long time.

"It's a 41-year-old issue," she told Geist, pointing out that while she has a "great family," which includes her mother's longtime love Kurt Russell, not having a relationship with her dad has had a lasting impact on her.

"I have a great family, I have a beautiful mother, I have a stepfather who stepped in and played a huge, huge part in sharing what it is to have a dependable father figure in our life, but it doesn't take away from the fact that we didn't know our dad," she said. "People sometimes need to hear that they're not alone in that."

Sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Hudson previously addressed her relationship with her biological father in 2016, saying she forgave him for abandoning her as a child.

"I really do recognize whatever those issues are, it's just something that he has to live with, and that must be painful for him. So I forgive him," she said during an interview on The Howard Stern Show.