Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and mom Christene on new series 'From Cradle to Stage'

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and his mom Christene, discuss starring in the new series from Paramount + apprioriately titled, From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars.

Video Transcript

DAN REYNOLDS: For a Mormon mom to say yes to your child wanting to be in a rock band? No Mormon mom is going to say yes to that.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Raised your son right, you did something right. That's what I enjoyed so much "From Cradle to Stage" because the whole idea of it is how rock stars wouldn't be rock stars if they didn't have their moms.

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: We never really had big dreams that he was going to be a big rock star. We just wanted him to be happy and that's what he wanted too, I think. Don't you think, Dan? You weren't trying to be a rock star.

DAN REYNOLDS: I was levelheaded enough to know that your chances of actually making it to be able to-- I knew I wanted to have a family, and my only goal was to be able to support-- if I was able to support a family with my wife-- whoever that was going to be, and at the time I didn't know. I just knew, hey I wanted this kind of life that was atypical for a rock star, which is a family, one person to be with always, the romantic dream of that, for me, was something that I wanted. And that doesn't always add up with being in a rock band.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Actually, I'd really love to talk about this. So the "Follow You" single came out. Love the lyrics, I love the story behind it. But you've been very open, you and Aja have both been very open about your story, about how you were separated for a while and how you put in the work to get your marriage back together. Dan, did you turn to Christene, your mom, for advice because you come from a very idyllic family situation?

DAN REYNOLDS: Yeah I mean, I certainly turned to my mom during that time. And I think her advice was really perfect for what I was looking for, which was she didn't really meddle in it. It was, "I support you in whatever is going to make you happy." I'm a firm believer that relationships are not for everyone, first of all. And not every relationship is right, either.

So some people are perfectly happy to live a life being single, and that's their route. And I have tons of friends who are fulfilled, happy, love that. I have friends who date a lot and they love that. I have friends who are in relationships that are healthy and that's great. I have friends who've gotten divorced and that was the right thing for them, and they're much happier and it's better for them.

So first and foremost, I'm not an advocate for, you know, no matter what, this is it. Blah, blah, blah. Everyone should get married. Everybody should-- That's not for me. And my mom, when we went through this, took the approach of, I love you. I support you. She never said a bad word about Aja through it, never a bad word about myself. It was just, I'm here for you. Whatever is going to make you happy, that's what you should do.

And that's all the support I needed. And that led me right back to where I was, which was, for me, I figured out that this was right for me. But sometimes you have to go wander down a road you haven't been down to know what road is right for you. And my mom was patient with me through that. And so was Aja.

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: It was a really hard time because Danny was suffering greatly, and Aja was suffering greatly, and Arrow was suffering greatly. And so to watch all the people you love, right there, those three-- the twins were too little, I think, to really know-- but the other three were in real hard, hard sorrow.

And so I would talk to Dan on the phone and cry with him because it was so hard for him. And then I would go see Aja. Aja was so broken, and it was so hard for her. And I remember one day I took Arrow with me because she just couldn't handle it all. And we got in the car and she just started crying.

And we pulled over and I said, "What can we do to make it better?" And she told me the things that were killing her and what she wanted. And I told her, "We can try every day to do the best we can. I can't promise you any of your huge dreams." And so it was hard. It was really hard. But you know, it worked. It was like a beautiful miracle, and it worked.

LYNDSEY PARKER: It's a beautiful story, yeah. So thank you for sharing that with me. Something stood out to me when I was watching your episode of "From Cradle to Stage." Quite early on, Dan talks about how you taught him to watch out for the disenfranchised, the at-risk, the weak.

Last time I interviewed Dan alone, we talked a lot about all the activism and charity work he does, all the work he does with LOVELOUD. Can you talk a little bit about that? I imagine a lot of that comes from your faith and instilling that value that you should help other people.

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: I think raising him in a Christ-centered home, I think that when you think of the two Commandments-- do you want me to say this? I don't know if you even talk about religion on-air.

DAN REYNOLDS: Say whatever you want to say, Mom.

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: Just, you know, the two Commandments: love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's really what I wanted my kids to know. Love God, love themselves enough so they could love others just like they love themselves. That was really the main goal of our home.

LYNDSEY PARKER: I think this is important because I do think sometimes in families religion can be something that is a deal-breaker, that splits people apart, that estranges people because they don't necessarily believe in all the same things.

DAN REYNOLDS: My mom believes very firmly in her faith. She would not be living her truth to not instill it in me from a very young age. And I have no anger about that. I have no resentment towards that. I think I went through a period where I was angry about it. And then as I've gotten older, I've realized her intentions were always good. Always.

And my faith is not the same as my mom's. I think that's hard for her, as much as it will be hard for me if-- when my children aren't believing or maybe practicing exactly the things that I think that they should practice. I still am a very spiritually grounded person. I believe in God. I hope for a God, I would say, but I'm not as religious.

And that's been something to me and my mom have had to work through in many conversations. And I think we've landed in a spot that's healthy, which is love and respect for each other and where we're at, and an acknowledgment that I don't think-- nobody knows all the answers.

And all you can do is do your best every day to live your truth. And so yeah, I feel like my mom really celebrated me my entire life, even when it was hard because it didn't always match exactly what she believed would be the easiest route for me.

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: I think the best thing you can do is listen with respect. Both those have to go together.

LYNDSEY PARKER: How do you feel about the work that Dan is doing with LOVELOUD?

CHRISTENE REYNOLDS: We are so thrilled with what he's doing. And I think that the sweetest part was I didn't want to move out of my house. We've been there for 30 years. I'd raised my kids there. It was hard. And it's a house built for children. The yard and the house is built for kids. It was making me really sad.

And then Danny called one morning and said, Mom, I had this dream. I told Aja about it and she said, let's go for it. And so he called us and said, what would you feel like if we bought your home and turned it into an Encircle home?

And my husband and I were both on the phone. We both started crying. It was the perfect answer. So now it's a home that will love kids still. I can't think of anything better.

DAN REYNOLDS: This house, which was a house of celebrating others, it's fantastic that it's going to go forward to celebrate LGBTQ youth and provide a safe place for them and their families to see the road ahead and meet with incredible therapists that will help that family to navigate that road, especially those who come from families of orthodox faith or whatever it may be that makes it a complicated journey. But we know that celebrating our youth is essential.

We're pretty much keeping all the core of the house. And in fact, there is a room-- I don't know if I told you this, Mom-- but there's a room that I had stayed in that when we were taking down one of the pictures, behind it I had scratched into the wall my name and something. I don't know what it was, but something naughty. [LAUGHS] It was at the age of, like, 12.

And there was a picture that was put over it to obviously hide what I had done. But someone took a picture of that and then they put that on the wall in a picture. So we're trying to do some things to retain the beauty of the house and all the things that were fun and special about it.

My mom had an incredible sign welcoming people into a home of love that we're keeping right near when people walk in. So it's an incredible story, and I think it's one that people hopefully should hear. I think we need more stories of good happening in the world, and certainly my mom has been a great example of that.