Like all of Us, Zendaya was shocked when Law Roach announced his decision to retire as a celebrity stylist. The fashion guru revealed that he announced the big news without talking to the actress first.
“It was tough for her,” Roach, 44, said of Zendaya’s reaction to the major career change during the Tuesday, March 21, episode of Emily Ratajkowski’s podcast “High Low with EmRata.” Roach explained that move: Zendaya, 26, called him wanting answers after he told the world via Instagram on March 14 that he was hanging up the fashionable towel.
“She called and said, ‘Girl, I thought we’d make big decisions together,’” Roach told Ratajkowski, 31. “Of course, she supported me and was like, ‘Do you need me to send you on a vacation? Tell me what you’re going through.’”
The Chicago native said he then opened up to Zendaya, telling her how “unhappy” he was for a “really long time.” Roach shared that amid styling not only Zendaya but a host of A-listers including Kerry Washington, Hunter Schafer, Megan Thee Stallion and more, he was also grieving the death of his 3-year-old nephew.
The Shake It Up alum was understanding and assured Roach that she was there for “whatever” he needed, the style expert told Ratajkowski.
Roach clarified that his decision to say goodbye to styling had nothing to do with Zendaya and called out trolls who blamed the Euphoria star. “The internet is cruel,” Roach said. “The things [people are saying] of course isn’t true … She has always protected me in this industry and vice versa.”
He then addressed the viral video that showed him and Zendaya arriving at the Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week on March 6. In the clip, the two are seen entering the venue with Zendaya finding her seat next to Emma Stone in the front row. Roach was left standing there, seemingly with nowhere to sit. Many assumed the incident was the last straw.
“I just didn’t know where I was sitting,” Roach said as Ratajkowski added “which is totally normal.”
After debunking the rumor, Roach explained his real reason for retiring. “I lost my nephew, two years ago, the day before Thanksgiving when he was three. He fell out of their apartment window, and I think that’s when a shift for me started to happen … I had literally only got to see my nephew maybe four times in his three years because of work,” he shared.
Roach continued: “You didn’t get a chance to kiss him and tell him you love them enough. So that was really tough for me. I had never been depressed in my life. And I went through a bout of really, really strong depression.”
As he looks forward, he hopes to prioritize his personal life. “I just woke up one day. And I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety, like crippling anxiety, honestly. And I’m like, ‘Why, I know how to do this job?’ It’s the only thing I know how to do. But I just started to realize, like, I’m not in relationship, I have never been in a relationship. These last eight, nine years, my focus has only been my career blinders on, like, so I lost a lot of friends,” Roach said.
He echoed similar sentiments to Vogue after making his modeling debut in the Boss show on the same day he announced his retirement. “I’m not saying I’m retiring from fashion,” Roach explained in the March 14 interview. “I love fashion. I love the business, and I love being creative. What I’m retiring from is the celebrity styling part of it: the being in service and at service of other people. That’s what I’m retiring from, yeah.”
