Actor and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson opened up about what unsettles him in everyday life, especially when his wife, singer Lauren Hashian, sends texts without emojis. Speaking at the 2026 ABFF Honors in Los Angeles on February 16, Johnson shared insight into his concerns, focusing on his role as a father and the nuances of communication with his spouse. His comments highlight the personal challenges he faces in balancing family life amid his busy career.
Fatherhood Brings Constant Uncertainty and Care
Johnson expressed that his daughters are a significant source of anxiety.
“My babies make me nervous. Yeah, my little girls make me nervous,”
he said, emphasizing the unpredictability of parenting through various stages of life. He elaborated on the pressures his children face growing up, acknowledging a world full of complexity and noise that affects both adults and kids.
He explained,
“I have all girls, adult girls, little girls. It kind of makes me nervous because you just never know how things are going to shake out. So this idea that the world is crazy and it’s loud and there’s a lot of pushing and pulling, and there’s a lot of pressure for not only adults but also kids as well. It gets me a little nervous as a dad.”
Johnson, 53, who accepted the Entertainment Icon Award that night, highlighted his deep desire to raise his daughters with strong values and a stable foundation.
“I just want to make sure that I’m there doing the right things, saying the right things, raising them right with the value system and a structure that they could take on the rest of their life,”
he noted. “That makes me nervous.”
How Texting Without Emojis Sparks His Worry
In a lighter moment, Johnson joked about how something as simple as missing emojis in texts from his wife sets off alarm bells for him.
“Another thing that makes me nervous is if I get texts from my wife and there’s no emojis. Then I’m like, ‘Oh, s—, what did I do?’. If I don’t see those emojis, I get nervous,”
he revealed, highlighting the subtle ways he reads emotional cues in their relationship.
The Couple’s Journey and Family Life
Since marrying in 2019, Johnson and Lauren Hashian have built a family with their two daughters, Jasmine, 10, and Tiana, 7. The couple’s story began in 2006 on the set of Johnson’s film, The Game Plan, soon after which they started dating following Johnson’s 2007 split from ex-wife Danny Garcia. Johnson is also a father to Simone, 24, with Garcia.
Reflecting on finding love again, Johnson previously told PEOPLE in 2012,
“I was so fortunate to have fallen in love once. To fall in love again? That’s a hard thing to do twice in the position I’m in. I’m one lucky son of a b—.”
Hashian’s Background and Growth as a Mother
Lauren Hashian hails from Massachusetts and earned a degree in public relations and communications from Emerson College in Boston. Though primarily a singer, she has worked behind the scenes at major entertainment companies including Warner Music Group and the music division of Paramount Pictures.
Hashian has spoken openly about how motherhood transformed her confidence.
“I was too shy of a kid, and I really wasn’t not shy until … I became a mother,”
she shared in a 2021 Billboard interview.
“And then I felt way more confident in my own body and my own feelings. It was like, ‘Well, you can’t be scared of anything anymore, because you don’t want to teach your kids that, right?’”
She continues to release music, including the 2024 collaboration “Speed It Up” with Junior Sanchez, balancing her professional ambitions with her role as a mother.
Why Johnson’s Candidness Resonates
Dwayne Johnson’s openness about his anxieties—ranging from parenting concerns to the subtle worries triggered by his wife’s texting habits—paints a relatable picture of family life for many. His emphasis on values, communication, and the challenges of raising children in a complex world underscores the pressures faced by parents today. As he navigates both fame and fatherhood, his focus remains steadfastly on providing support and stability for his daughters.
With his continued work in entertainment alongside his dedication at home, Johnson’s vulnerability adds depth to his public persona and offers insight into the personal side of a high-profile celebrity. His story suggests that even those who seem larger than life experience the everyday anxieties of love and family.
