Chris Rock truly wondered if he'd be able to come back into the comedy world after stepping away from it for several years.
The comedian headed out on his "Total Blackout Tour" in February, marking his first full-scale world tour in nine years...and a lot had changed in that time.
Most notably, he separated from his wife of 18 years, Malaak Compton-Rock, in 2014. Their divorce was finalized in 2016.
He covers the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, and though he jokingly calls the tour his "alimony tour," he gets serious when talking about life after divorce. "Getting divorced, you have to f--king start over," he said. "You get to reset. It's not a breakdown, but something in your life broke down."
However, instead of blaming his ex-wife (like he used to in older shows), he's changed his mentality.
"I was a piece of s--t," he admitted during one of his more recent shows, getting into a discussion of his infidelity and even admitting he cheated with three women: one famous, one semi-famous, and one a member of the retail class.
He told RS that he believed he could get away with cheating because he was the famous breadwinner in the household.
"That's bulls--t," he can now admit. "That actually goes the other way. My faults are magnified. Your significant other, if they really love you, has a high opinion of you. And you let them down."
There are several reasons Rock has toned down the negativity when it comes to discussing his divorce.
For one, he said, "I asked myself, 'Do I want to be angry for a year?' It's not a cool place to be. It's not healthy."
Secondly, he knows it's not fair that he can go out and bash his divorce when his ex doesn't have a platform to defend herself. "It's not fair," he told the magazine. "I have a mic, she doesn't. God forbid people are bugging her in the supermarket. That's not cool. I'm going to have to see her at weddings and graduations."
Rock even admitted he cried once, "during the custody battle" over his two daughters, Zahra and Lola Rock.
"We live in a world where men are assumed to not have feelings," he said, providing an example: "All my friends assume I moved into the city after my divorce, away from my girls. When I say I bought a house around the corner, it blows their minds."
Obviously, his daughters are his priority, and he doesn't want to miss a beat.
In fact, at one point in the RS interview he got candid admitting, "My own daughter has blocked me on Instagram. They grow up so quick."
As he moves forward from the divorce and continues figuring out how to live this new life, he also has hopes of finding God.
"I wanna find some peace, 'cause people usually find that peace in a horrible time," he revealed. "Why does that have to be? Maybe I can find God without being in shambles. Maybe I can reach a higher plain spiritually without being in a near-death experience."
He's also found love with his girlfriend, Megalyn Echikunwoke, an actress who works on CSI: Miami.
"I'm dating a girl now," he told RS. "She's got her own dough, it's amazing."
Perhaps he still can't help but throw a little shade his ex's way...
Read his full interview with Rolling Stone here.