John Mulaney's ex Anna Marie Tendler says she had a 'mental health breakdown' amid divorce, but her dog saved her

• Anna Marie Tendler says she suffered a "severe mental health breakdown" amid her divorce from John Mulaney.
• In an essay for Elle, she revealed she was hospitalized for depression and self-harm in January 2021.

In dark times, Anna Marie Tendler had a true best friend — her French bulldog, Petunia.

In an essay for Elle memorializing her dog, who died in April, Tendler reflected on their strong bond and how it deepened during a crisis.

"Petunia and I moved to Connecticut in December 2020, in the wake of my severe mental health breakdown and what appeared to be the impending end of my marriage," she wrote. "We fused even more deeply together in an attuned and totally symbiotic relationship. She never let me out of her sight."

Tendler said the dog gave her the "deepest kind of love I had ever known."

"My mental health hinged wholly on my dog," she wrote. "When I was hospitalized for depression, self-harm, and severe suicidal ideation in the first two weeks of 2021, the doctors asked me to make a list of my reasons for living. Petunia was the one and only thing on that list."

Tendler and comedian John Mulaney married in 2014 and announced their split in May 2021. The news came after Mulaney made headlines in late 2020 for checking into a rehab facility for addiction amid a relapse.

"I am heartbroken that John has decided to end our marriage," Tendler said in a statement at the time of the split. "I wish him support and success as he continues his recovery."

Days later, rumors that Mulaney was dating actor Olivia Munn began circulating.

Then, in September 2021, Mulaney announced on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" that Munn was pregnant.

Since the divorce, Tendler has focused her efforts on her art. In fall 2021, she showed her photography series "Rooms in the First House" at the Other Art Fair in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.

In her essay, Tendler described all the life events she experienced with Petunia.

"She was my constant through marriage, four moves, graduate school, a career change (or two), a mental health crisis, a divorce, and finally a reinvention," she wrote.

When Petunia's health issues worsened — she had "heart disease and a brain tumor or brain stem disease" — Tendler made the decision to facilitate her peaceful passing.

"I promised her that I was okay and that I would be okay without her; crushed, lonely, but okay," Tendler wrote. "I thanked her for staying with me — for guarding me — until I was strong enough to survive without her."