Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shared another side of himself on Friday, providing the seldom heard details of his rough childhood.

During his speech at the Value Voters Summit in Washington, Cruz talked about his life growing up in Calgary, Canada, ABC News reports.

"Both of my parents drank far too much," the Republican said. "Both of them had serious problems with alcohol."

In addition, the politician, who has been named as a potential candidate for the 2016 presidential election, revealed that his father, Rafael, walked out on him and his mother.

"When I was 3 years old, my father decided he didn't want to be married anymore and he didn't want a 3-year-old son, so he got on a plane and left," Cruz said.

Cruz, now 43 years old, added that his father moved to Houston, Texas. He eventually did return to his son and wife after finding religion. Cruz did not specify how long his father was gone before coming back.

"He gave his life to Jesus and he went and bought an airplane ticket and flew back to Calgary to rejoin my mother and to rejoin his son," Cruz said. "So when anyone asks is faith real, is a relationship with Jesus real, I can tell you, if it were not for my father giving his life to Christ, I would have been raised by a single mother."

Cruz's father is now a minister and can often be seen giving speeches at conservative gatherings around the United States.

The Texas senator has not officially decided to run for president in 2016, but already has support from some conservatives.

"Someone like Cruz taking the nomination in 2016 would give [social conservatives] a voice again," Greg Mueller, a conservative strategist who has three Republican presidential campaigns under his belt, told The Washington Post. "It's still early, and there are many potential candidates that could appeal to this base, but there is no question Senator Cruz has some early momentum with them. He hits all of the main themes the conservative base want to hear."

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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