Sam Claflin reflects on emotional struggles after split from Laura Haddock

Sam Claflin has reflected on the emotional toll of adjusting to life as a single father, admitting there were moments when he found himself “crying to myself” as he navigated the transition.

The Hunger Games actor, 39, shares son Pip, 10, and daughter Margot, 8, with ex-wife Laura Haddock. 

Speaking in a new interview with Bustle, Claflin opened up about the challenges he faced after the couple separated in 2019, a period that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I had a 4 and 2-year-old, and I was potty training my daughter, homeschooling my son, whilst trying to cook,” he recalled. “My gosh, I didn’t have a clue. There were moments where I was crying to myself, but we got through that together.”

Despite the struggles, Claflin said the experience ultimately strengthened his bond with his children. Being “forced to be on my own,” he explained, turned out to be “the best thing that ever happened” for their relationship.

Fatherhood, he added, has long been his greatest ambition. “When I was a teenager and beyond, if I was at a wedding, I would always go and hang out with the kids,” he shared, noting that he had always told people he wanted to be a dad when he grew up.

After wrapping The Hunger Games franchise, Claflin made a conscious decision to prioritise family life, turning down extended filming commitments in favour of projects that kept him closer to home. “I’m really proud of that decision. I don’t regret any of it,” he said.

In a previous interview with Variety in 2023, the actor acknowledged he had been in a “really bad place” following the split, describing the period as one of self-discovery. 

“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,” he said at the time.