Dwayne Johnson finally hugs Jelly Roll years after his music helped him through 'hard' time
The WWE legend turned Hollywood megastar has shared a video of the moment he finally met and hugged the Only hitmaker, whose song "moved" him around 2017 when he was "struggling" with his mental health.
Alongside a video of the pair hugging and saying they loved each other, The Rock wrote: "A brotherly hug almost 10 years in the making...
"Several years ago (roughly 2017) I was going through a very hard thing at the time, I was struggling.
"My mental wellness turned into my mental hellness. Many of you know the drill, you put on 'the face,' show up to work, smile and get through it.
"Perhaps not the healthiest thing to do, but it's what I was used to doing at the time.
"Then a song came on through my headphones one morning on a random shuffle playlist. 'Only' from Jelly Roll. The lyrics rocked me. Hard core."
In the emotional song, Jelly - who is also a huge WWE fan - sings: "What if the darkness inside of me has finally taken my soul?/What if the angels in heaven were sent to take me home?
"Would they fight through the demons that I have in my life?/Lord, I'm believing eventually see the light."
The Fast and Furious actor recalled how he was moved "so much" that he got in touch with the singer at the time, and shared how "this song of yours is helping me through some stuff I'm dealing with". and that he "just called to say thank you".
He continued: "Our bond was born."
When the pair finally met in person recently, Dwayne gave Jelly a gift which he admitted might seem "insignificant to the world", but would mean a lot to Jelly.
He gave the singer an old postcard of the former Alamo Plaza motel in South Nashville, where Jelly is from.
Dwayne explained: "When I was 15yrs I was forced (family was evicted) to leave Hawaii and make it to Nashville to live with my dad.
"That didn't work out so I wound up living with a stranger in this little spot on Murfreesboro Road that has since been torn down and no longer there.
"Downtown Bruno was that stranger's name and to this day, he's one of my best and most special friends. Just like Jelly. A very special friend."
In the Instagram video, Jelly admitted that the postcard - which was signed by The Rock - "is real old school Nashville history".
Dwayne added in the caption: "Every once in a while we all get sliced up by life, but it's amazing to see what kind of blessings and people that God and the universe will put in our lives to help us heal through our pain."
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