Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has opened up about his struggles with depression, following his split from his first wife Dany Garcia.
The 51-year-old wrestler turned actor, divorced from his ex-wife in 2007, after ten years of marriage.
And though Dwayne has previously been open about his difficulties with mental health following his mother’s attempted suicide when he was aged 15, he has now shared the effect that the breakdown of his marriage had on him.
Speaking on The Pivot podcast, Dwayne admitted that his struggles with mental health began years before, but he struggled to express what it was that he was actually feeling.
He said: ‘I left school, but the interesting thing at the time is, I didn’t know what mental health was. I didn’t know what depression was.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson chats his moments of depression
Tough: Dwayne Johnson has opened up about his struggles with depression, following his split from his first wife Dany Garcia in 2007 after ten years of marriage (pictured in March)
History: The 51-year-old wrestler turned actor pictured in 2017 after their divorce – they remain great friends
‘I just knew I didn’t want to be there,’ Johnson told ‘The Pivot’ hosts and former NFL stars Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor and Ryan Clark.
Dwayne said he wrestled with his mental health and described struggling with depression after his college football career ended and, later, after his divorce from Dany.
He said this time he was able to identify his depression and ‘lean on’ friends.
‘I knew what it was at that time and luckily I had some friends that I could lean on and say, “Hey I’m feeling a little wobbly now. I got a little struggle happening,”‘ he said.
Dwayne then opened up on the importance of ‘talking to somebody’ and added that being aware of his ‘mental pain’ has made all of the difference.
‘I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work through any mental pain that may come to test me.
‘As men, we didn’t talk about it. We just kept our head down and worked through it. Not healthy, but it’s all we knew,’ he said.
‘If you’re going through your own version of mental wellness turning into mental hell-ness, the most important thing you can do is talk to somebody,’ he said. ‘Having the courage to talk to someone is your superpower.’
Ex: Though Dwayne has previously been open about his difficulties with mental health following his mother’s attempted suicide when he was aged 15, he has now shared the effect that the breakdown of his marriage had on him (pictured in 2004)
Open: Speaking on The Pivot podcast, Dwayne admitted that his struggles with mental health began years before, but he struggled to express what it was that he was actually feeling
Devoted: He said: Johnson has previously delved into his past struggles with depression. In a 2018 interview with Britain’s Express, he spoke about the trauma he felt following his mother’s attempted suicide when he was only 15
Dwayne Johnson discusses depression he suffered as a teenager
Johnson has previously delved into his past struggles with depression.
In a 2018 interview with Britain’s Express, he spoke about the trauma he felt following his mother’s attempted suicide when he was only 15.
After his family was evicted from their apartment while he was a teen, Johnson’s mother Ata tried to kill herself by parking her car and walking into the middle of a busy highway in Nashville. Luckily, cars braked and swerved to avoid hitting her.
‘Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed,’ he shared in the interview.
‘I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.’
He opened up about the shocking incident in an Instagram post from 2018.
‘I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road,’ Johnson wrote in his caption to a photo from the set of his series Ballers.
‘What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is that to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t.’
He added, ‘We got lucky that day when I was 15 and that ain’t always the case.’
Dwayne re-married in 2019 to his wife Lauren Hashian, after first meeting in 2006 whilst filming The Game Plan.
They share daughters, Tiana, five, and Jasmine, seven.
And despite Dwayne’s admission about the difficulties of his divorce, he has previously revealed how he and his ex manage not only to co-parent, but to run a production company together.
The pair spoke to Good Morning America in 2019 about working as a team, crediting ‘therapy’ as the answer to their continued great friendship.
‘Friendship and the expansion of wanting what’s best for everyone,’ added Dany to Dwayne’s ‘therapy’ response.
Along with their production company the pair are parents to daughter, Simone Johnson.
Happier times: Dwayne re-married in 2019 to his wife Lauren Hashian, after first meeting in 2006 whilst filming The Game Plan
Happy family: They share daughters, Tiana, five, and Jasmine, seven, together
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson BTS of Moana live action announcement
‘I had Simone when I was 29,’ said The Rock, before his ex jokingly interjected: ‘Actually, I had Simone, but you were there as well.’
‘At 29, I was still trying to find myself,’ added the Furious 7 star.
‘I was flying by the seat of my pants at that time. I was in WWE, and as she’s going into a business that I have enjoyed over the years, it has brought us even closer together.’
And really proving that their family ties are stronger than ever, Dany later moved on and married Dwayne’s close friend and personal trainer, Dave Rienzi.
Johnson is now extremely busy, after announcing that he would be reprising his role as Maui in a live-action version of the Disney smash-hit Moana and in the new animated film DC League of Super Pets, where he lends his unmistakable voice to Krypto the Super-Dog, who shares the same incredible powers as his owner Superman.
Together they fight crime in Metropolis, but he’s tested like never before when Superman is kidnapped and Krypto has to save him… despite losing his own powers.
He forms a team of shelter animals who were given superpowers to help rescue Superman and the rest of the Justice League.
Johnson leads an all-star voice cast that includes his frequent collaborator Kevin Hart, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Kate McKinnon, Keanu Reeves, Dascha Polanco, Ben Schwartz, Jemaine Clement, Daveed Diggs, Jameela Jami, Olivia Wilde and Thomas Middleditch.
Jared Stern and Sam Levine direct the animated superhero adventure, which will face the new film Vengeance in theaters plus the re-release of A24’s Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Box office prognosticators have projected an opening weekend between $40 million and $60 million for the animated adventure.
