Dwayne Johnson is opening up about her parents’ rocky marriage.
The Breaking machine The 53-year-old actor grew up surrounded by the pro wrestling business as the son of the late wrestler. Rocky Johnson i Ata Johnsonherself the daughter of a Samoan-American wrestler Peter Maivia and his wife, a wrestling promoter Lia Maivia.
In an interview with variety released on Sunday, January 4, Johnson recalled moving across the country at a young age with his parents because of his father’s wrestling career.
“My mom and dad had an explosive, volcanic relationship,” she said. “My dad was a professional wrestler at a time when it was the Wild West. There were no million-dollar contracts. He was paycheck to paycheck and just trying to survive.”
Over the years, stars like Jennette McCurdy and Macaulay Culkin have talked about hitting rock bottom with their parents. Jennette opened up about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, Debra McCurdy, in her memoir, I Am Glad My Mom Died. “Of course, there are times when I imagine that my mother would have apologized or that (…)
The professional wrestler-turned-actor added: “And my dad struggled with his addictions and focused on his career and himself, while my mom was at home raising me. She had to give up her own dreams and support the man she loves. All she wanted was to be seen, and you never saw her.”
“And I grew up watching that kind of decline in a relationship when a man is fighting his own demons. I saw their fights. I heard their fights, which is even worse,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s parents were married from 1978 until 2003, when they divorced. Rocky died at the age of 75 of a pulmonary embolism in January 2020.
Johnson recently recalled his own fractured relationship with his father before Rocky’s death in a recent interview with Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden on the latter’s “Artist Friendly” podcast.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been pouring over WWE and Hollywood for nearly 30 years. Thank you! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Deal of the Day This (…)
“We got into this big fight in Christmas 2019 … it was horrible,” he said during a December 2025 episode of the Madden podcast, per EWrestlingNews. “One of the biggest fights we’ve ever had over some stupid (things) … and about a month later, he died. And we weren’t talking.”
The Jumanji The star said his father tried to call him days before he died, but he didn’t pick up the call.
“He called me and I didn’t answer the call… I was at my son’s game. I was like, ‘I’ll call him back.’ And then like a day or two later, he’s gone,” she shared.
Johnson previously paid tribute to his father via Instagram when he died in January 2020.
“I love you,” he wrote next to a video of the highlights of his father’s professional wrestling career. “You broke color barriers, became a legend in the ring and made your way through (sic) this world. I was the kid sitting in the seats, watching and worshiping you, my hero from afar. The kid you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am. The kid you raised with the toughest of love. The only kid who wanted to work. Your best wishes qualities grew into a man, realizing that you had other deep and complex aspects that needed to be understood… That’s when my adoration turned to gratitude.
He added: “I’m in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass. Now I’ll take your mana and work ethic with me as it’s time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to make it. Finally, I want you to rest your pioneering soul Soulman. No pain, no regrets, no hardships, you lived a very hard and full life. And I left it all in the ring, I love you dad and I’ll always be your proud son and grateful