Chris Rock is speaking openly about the personal challenges that have shaped his life.
In a new interview with GQ, the 61-year-old comedian looked back on his failed marriage to his former wife, Malaak Compton-Rock.
Rock, who shares two children with the 57-year-old Compton-Rock, discussed his infidelity during their marriage and said he has not watched pornography in “five, six years.”
The actor previously acknowledged his adultery in his 2018 Netflix comedy special Tamborine. Speaking to the magazine, he admitted, “I was not a great husband. I watched a lot of porn. I don’t watch porn anymore. I haven’t watched porn in five, six years.”
Reflecting on his cheating, he said, “It’s not anything I’m proud of, but it’s something I had to go through.”
“I tested my powers. I definitely realized I wasn’t God or anywhere near him, and I was severely humbled, as I should have been.”
Chris Rock has once again opened up about his personal struggles; pictured in October
The 61-year-old comedian discussed his failed marriage to former wife Malaak Compton-Rock during a new GQ interview
The Hollywood veteran also explained how his 2016 divorce influenced his professional life.
“Nobody has a successful divorce, so that takes time,” he said, recalling the period before he returned to work after the split.
“Then once it’s done, you’re not sitting on the money you had before, so now you got to really make some money. So you go on tour, or two tours. So there was a lot of stand-up. There was a lot of getting my life together,” he added.
In his Netflix special nearly eight years ago, Rock called himself a “f***ing a**hole” for believing he could cheat on his wife without consequences.
He said he accepted responsibility for the end of their marriage.
“You don’t wanna get divorced. You got somebody you love, hold tight. Commit,” he told viewers.
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Looking back, Rock said the divorce was his fault because he “didn’t listen.”
“I wasn’t kind. I had an attitude, I thought, ‘I pay for everything, I can do what I want.’ That shit don’t f**cking work! I just thought I was the s**t,” he recalled.
Rock also challenged the familiar idea that people cheat simply because they want “something new.”
Rock pictured with then-girlfriend Compton-Rock, whom he married in 1996, in 1994
Rock, who shares two children with Compton-Rock, 57, acknowledged cheating during their marriage and said he has not watched pornography in “five, six years”
He admitted, “It’s not anything I’m proud of, but it’s something I had to go through. I tested my powers. I definitely realized I wasn’t God or anywhere near him, and I was severely humbled, as I should have been”
“But then you know what happens?” he continued. “Your woman finds out, and now she’s new. She is never the same again. So, now you have new, but you have a bad new.”
Rock’s GQ profile, published as part of the outlet’s Men of the Year issue, coincides with the release of his A24 dramedy Misty Green, which arrived on Apple TV+ on October 9.
During the interview, he also discussed undergoing therapy in an effort to improve his personal relationships.
“My personal life wasn’t what I wanted it to be. And I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
The conversation also touched on his nonverbal learning disorder, a condition that can affect how someone interprets nonverbal social cues.
The stand-up comedian said his diagnosis helped him recognize how his actions could affect the people around him.
“It made me realize how insensitive a lot of my behavior was throughout the years,” he acknowledged.
Discussing the relationship between fame and mental health, he said, “Mental illness and celebrity – it’s a weird combination there, because you think people are reacting a certain way because of celebrity. Because it’s this weird thing that you can’t quantify. So I used to just blame everything on celebrity. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re not connecting because I had a chronic unique-ism.’ I thought I was so f***ing unique.”
