Dakota Johnson Explained How Chris Martin Lifts Her Up When She’s Struggling With Depression

Her ‘Cats the Musical’ T-shirt was his indicator that he needed to step in.

Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin are total relationship goals, partly because despite being a Hollywood power couple, the duo has managed to keep their relationship mostly under wraps. But, every now and then, the longtime couple will give us a glimpse into their romance, making everything worth the wait, from Martin calling Johnson his “universe” to “partying inside” her house.

Most recently, Johnson spoke at the 2023 Hope for Depression Research Foundation luncheon — where she received the 2023 Hope Award for Depression Advocacy — and revealed that Martin helps her when things get tough. “A few weeks ago, I was having a low day,” she explained. “And my partner said to me, ‘Are you really struggling?’ and I said ‘No?'”

Despite insisting she was fine, Martin saw through her façade. “And he said, ‘Baby, you are wearing a Cats T-shirt.’ As in Cats the music,” she recalled. “So, it turns out, I really was struggling. But that moment lifted me up and pulled me out of it.” 

Johnson, who has been open about her mental health struggles in the past, also told the crowd that she’s happy to share her own experience if it means she can help someone else. “If me saying one little hopeful thing or one maybe relatable thing can help one other person feel a little bit better or a little bit less alone with their experience then I am a very willing advocate,” she said. “Most of the time as you can probably tell, I speak about depression or anxiety in a very self-deprecating way. Perhaps, I sometimes find it easier to look it in the eyes if I mask it in comedy. Covering my pain or anxiety with comedy has become a lifelong tool, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing, it works, it helps me. Because, sometimes if I don’t laugh, I will cry.” 

Johnson revealed that she’s been in therapy since she was young to “make sense of some of the complexities of my family life,” like the divorce of her famous parents, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, got divorced. “I sort of organically came across many different types of people and modes of therapy as I grew up,” she said. “I developed a penchant and curiosity for helping others and myself as my understanding grew deeper.” 

Over the years, she’s had to learn to accept her illness and know it’s not going to go away, saying, “The biggest thing I’ve learnt about depression is learning to become OK with there never really being an immediate answer, never really being an immediate end.”