The Rock On His First Marriage Not Working Out, Texting Simone Every Day
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson got personal during an interview with Oprah Winfrey about his first marriage to Dany Garcia, and how they both concluded that marriage wasn't meant for them. Johnson and Garcia remained close over the years, not only for the sake of their daughter Simone, but also through their business pursuits. Garcia became his manager after their divorce, which she remains to this day.
"As a man, you meet someone, you meet a woman, and you think this is going to be the one and you want to get married, and my first marriage didn't work out," Johnson said on Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour interview. "But then the birth of a child, and what that does, and the lens perspective that just shifts, just gives me a new profound respect for their moms.
"My ex-wife, Dany, the marriage didn't work out. It was one of those things where it wasn't an ugly divorce. It's just – marriage wasn't in our cards. We're great friends. We both have an appetite for business and to accomplish things. We thought, what if we continued to do business together? We felt like we could make something happen, and we did."
Johnson's firstborn daughter, Simone, is now part of the WWE developmental system. He mentioned in his interview that if there is one thing that he wanted to instill in his three daughters, it was how to be disciplined, but also for them to know how much he loves them.
"I'm not super strict, but discipline is important," Johnson noted. "With my daughters, I want to be as full and as present as I can be with the love that I give them... I want my daughters to know that I love them unconditionally, truly unconditioned...
"I told my oldest daughter, Simone, 'I love you' and I'm going to text you that every day. I also told her, I'm unattached, you don't have to text me back... I also want to teach my daughters the value of hard work, but more importantly, to be kind."
Johnson discussed the values that his father, Rocky Johnson, taught him. Besides being successful, Johnson stated that there were many lessons his father taught him, but the biggest one that stood out above the rest was how to earn respect.
"My dad always said regardless of what you do in life, or where you go, respect is going to be given when it's earned. You have to go out and earn it, every single day," Johnson stated.
Johnson added that his daughters also taught him some valuable traits to have as a father.
"My daughters taught me how to be more caring, more sensitive, and to be selfless," Johnson concluded.
You can listen to The Rock's full interview with Oprah here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.