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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed how heartbreak and depression after his 2008 divorce changed the course of his Hollywood career. “When you guys get married, as a few of you may know, you sign up for the long haul, but then it doesn’t always work out like that,” Johnson, 53, began during a recent appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast. “And then it rocks you like it rocked me. And we had a baby, and what kind of father was I going to be?” The Smashing Machine star went on to explain that he was going through “another bout of depression” at the time, adding that he was led to seek lighter, family-friendly roles. “I was trying to figure my stuff out, and that was the only thing that I really wanted to do artistically,” he continued. “I didn’t want anything that was going to challenge me to rip my guts out, I wanted stuff that has a happy ending, and so that’s what that was.” During that time, Johnson starred in films such as The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain, and Tooth Fairy. “The truth is — and I can look back on that time with real clarity these days — those days, things were a little cloudy,” he added. “I loved making those movies. I also think I manifested those because I don’t think I was ready for anything other than easy, light, family films that made me feel good.” Johnson married Garcia in 1997. The pair welcomed daughter Simone in August 2001 before calling it quits in 2007. Later that year, the former wrestler began dating Lauren Hashian after meeting on the set of The Game Plan. Johnson and Hashian tied the knot in August 2019. They later welcomed daughters Jasmine and Tiana. “While marriage wasn’t in our cards, we did realize, ‘Well, wait a second, we’re building something that’s pretty cool,'” Johnson noted of his relationship with Garcia, with whom he co-founded Seven Bucks Productions. “‘Marriage may not be in our cards but building business can be.’ And that took time.”
