News | Sep 21, 2020 09:00 AM EDT

Chris Rock Shock: Comedian Reveals Learning Disorder

By Angelica Davis

Chris Rock stunned his fans as he opened up about his health.

The 55-year-old comedian, who rose to fame with his stand-up comedy and role in "Saturday Night Live" during the early 90s, revealed that he has been diagnosed with a learning disorder.

Chris Rock Suffers From Nonverbal Learning Disorder

In his recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the two-time Grammy Award winner confessed that he is suffering from a nonverbal learning disorder and has to spend seven hours of therapy every week.

As cited by psychologytoday.com, NVLD is a neurological disability characterized by problems with verbal, motor, visual-spatial and social skills. People diagnosed with this may experience difficulties in "drawing, writing, telling time using analog clocks, or otherwise manipulating visual-spatial information."

Moreover, patients may also have issues with their coordination necessary in doing simple stuff like "tying shoes."

For the "Grown Ups" star, he explained that he could understand words, but he is having a hard time interpreting signals in some situations.

"And all I understand are the words," Rock said before pointing out that he can take things "too literally" and has an "all-or-nothing thinking."

"By the way, all of those things are really great for writing jokes - they're just not great for one-on-one relationships," he added.

In addition, Rock mentioned that at some point, he was clueless about his condition as he did not fully understand how it affected his life.

"I'd always just chalked it up to being famous," he told the publication. "Any time someone would respond to me in a negative way, I'd think, 'Whatever, they're responding to something that has to do with who they think I am.' Now, I'm realizing it was me. A lot of it was me."

Although he recently learned about his disorder, he is committed to undergoing a series of treatments to address the problem. He is also working on his childhood traumas.

"I thought I was actually dealing with it, and the reality is I never dealt with it," the comedian added. "The reality was the pain and the fear that that brought me, I was experiencing it every day."

It's unknow at what stage Chris Rock is with his treatment, but it is clear he's determined to work on the issue.

Chris Rock Dealt With Divorce

In his 2015 interview with The Guardian, "The Longest Yard" actor opened up about his relationship with then-wife Malaak Compton after they called it quits in 2014.

"I'm doing OK. You know, some days are better than others, some days you're sad outta your fucking mind. But my daughters are good and I'm only an hour away. Two houses close by. It's good," he mentioned.

According to reports, the two met at the Essence Awards 1996. In the same year, the pair got engaged and got married for 18 years.

Unfortunately, Chris Rock and the author officially divorced in 2016 due to his "infidelity issues."