Sam Claflin Opens Up Navigating Single Fatherhood After Divorce

Sam Claflin is sharing some rare comments about his personal life.

While promoting his new Prime Video series Daisy Jones & The Six, the 36-year-old actor opened up about adjusting to life as a single fatherhood after his divorce from wife Laura Haddock.

Keep reading to find out more…

“I’d been through quite a lot personally at the time,” Sam told Variety about being cast in the cast at the same time he was going through a divorce. “I was in a really bad place.”

Sam and Laura announced in August 2019 that they were getting divorced after six years of marriage. They share two kids, son Pip, 7, and daughter Margot, 5.

“I think I needed to work out a few kinks in my own life, to figure out who I was as this dad on my own in a house outnumbered by two toddlers,” Sam said while reflecting on the early days of being a divorcée and a single dad.

“Then this job coming out the back of that was just the most fun, joyous fresh start,” Sam added.

In Daisy Jones & The Six, Sam plays Billy Dunne, a musician who struggles with infidelity along with drug and alcohol addiction.

Later in his interview, Sam admitted that he couldn’t relate to his character’s struggles with addiction, but did understand his struggles as a husband and parent.

“I was a husband. I’ve been through marriage and the struggle of juggling work, family life, home and being grounded,” Sam said. “The obstacles he has to overcome, like becoming a dad and the fear or anxiety that brings, feeling like you might fail.”

He continued, “His fear of failure is something that I can massively relate to — needing to feel approval and the fear of abandonment. I’ve been through this struggle. And I’m sure the struggle will continue.”

Sam also said that working on the show helped get him through the roughest part of his divorce.

“I think my relationship with myself is a lot better than it was. Before, I didn’t like who I was or what I had to say,” Sam recalled. “Whereas now, after going through the journey of Billy Dunne, I realize how therapeutic or cathartic it was to tell a story that feels really authentic to me. It allowed me the opportunity to approach life differently.”

Daisy Jones & The Six premieres on Prime Video on March 3 – watch the trailer here!