Dakota Johnson shares how Chris Martin helps her when she’s struggling with depression

Johnson says moment with her partner ‘lifted me up and pulled me out of it’

Dakota Johnson has recalled one moment during which her boyfriend Chris Martin helped her when she was depressed.

The Madame Web actor gave fans a rare insight into her relationship with the Coldplay frontman during the 2023 Hope for Depression Research Foundation luncheon, sharing how the musician has been there for her through highs and lows.

“A few weeks ago, I was having a low day and my partner said to me: ‘Are you really struggling?’ and I said: ‘No?’” she said, according to Hello.

“And he said: ‘Baby, you are wearing a Cats T-shirt.’ As in Cats the musical,” the Fifty Shades of Grey star continued. “So it turns out, I really was struggling. But that moment lifted me up and pulled me out of it.”

The actor - who previously revealed she’s struggled with depression since she was a teenager - added that her personal experiences fueled her decision to use her platform to raise awareness about mood disorders like depression.

She said: “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 also revealed that her parents put her in therapy at a young age so that she could “make sense of some of the complexities of my family life,” such as the divorce of her famous parents, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.

“I sort of organically came across many different types of people and modes of therapy as I grew up,” she added. “I developed a penchant and curiosity for helping others and myself as my understanding grew deeper.”

But the 34-year-old actress acknowledged that she’s far from the perfect advocate, noting that she struggles to talk about the issues without cracking a few jokes.

“Most of the time as you can probably tell, I speak about depression or anxiety in a very self-deprecating way,” Johnson noted. “Perhaps, I sometimes find it easier to look it in the eyes if I mask it in comedy.”

She continued: “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's connection with Martin has only grown since they started dating in 2017. Over the past six years, the pair have not shied away from expressing their love for each other. At a London concert in 2021, Martin pointed to Johnson in the balcony and delivered a special message before performing Coldplay’s “My Universe,” which is a collaboration with the K-pop group BTS. He told the crowd: “This is about my universe, and she’s here.”

Before dating Martin, the actor was in long-term relationships with Jordan Masterson and Matthew Hitt. Martin shares two children - Apple, 19, and Moses, 17 - with Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow. The Fifty Shades actor and Paltrow share a close friendship, as evidenced by sweet photos the Goop founder posted on Instagram of the pair holding hands.