Stephen JeskeHollywood is no stranger to sober celebs, with many using their experiences to help other alcoholics and addicts find the courage they need to start their sobriety journey. Meanwhile, other stars say they’re simply grateful and want to live their lives in the open.
From time to time, however, a celebrity will surprise the world and suddenly announce that they got sober.
Kelly Osbourne, who previously talked about being sober for six years, revealed in April 2021 that she had suffered a relapse and was working on next steps.
“Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.
Two months later, the former Fashion Police star explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused her relapse during an appearance on Red Table Talk.
“I was alone, sitting by a pool and waiting for somebody to come have a meeting with me. And I saw this woman and her husband had a glass of champagne. It looked really nice, and I was like, ‘I can do that, too,’” she shared in the June 2021 interview. “And the next day, I had two glasses. And the day after that, it was bottles.”
Osbourne also reflected on how a medical procedure started her addiction when she was younger, noting, “I had a really bad case of tonsillitis. They ended up having to give me some crazy surgery and then after that they gave me Vicodin and that was all I needed.”
Demi Lovato, who first entered rehab for drug and alcohol addiction in 2010, has used their experience to help others who may be struggling with similar problems.
“I think I turned to those coping mechanisms because I genuinely was in so much pain that I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t know what else to do. I did the best that I could at times, and now that I have other tools and other resources, I know how else to deal and how else to cope so I don’t have to resort to those behaviors again,” Lovato revealed in an episode of the “Yeah No, I’m Not OK” podcast in March 2021.
The singer previously sought treatment and entered a sober house in 2013, but relapsed after six years of sobriety and was rushed to the hospital following a near-fatal drug overdose in 2018.
Following the harrowing journey, Lovato shared what led to the relapse in their Dancing With the Devil docuseries in March 2021, later clarifying that they decided not to completely remove marijuana and alcohol from their life.
“I think I want to try this balance thing in the substance side of my life too,” the Disney Channel alum told Glamour magazine at the time. “A one-size-fits-all solution does not work for everybody. Any path that is right for someone else does not mean that it is an effective, meaningful, safe path for you. … What I’m encouraging people to do is just make choices for themselves. Autonomy, for me, is what changed my life.”
Scroll down for all the stars who bravely got sober in private, then shared the inspiring news with fans by coming clean on getting clean:
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
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Sobriety Surprises: Lena Dunham, Jason Biggs and Other Stars Who Revealed They Got Sober
Hollywood is no stranger to sober celebs, with many using their experiences to help other alcoholics and addicts find the courage they need to start their sobriety journey. Meanwhile, other stars say they’re simply grateful and want to live their lives in the open.
From time to time, however, a celebrity will surprise the world and suddenly announce that they got sober.
Kelly Osbourne, who previously talked about being sober for six years, revealed in April 2021 that she had suffered a relapse and was working on next steps.
“Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.
Two months later, the former Fashion Police star explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused her relapse during an appearance on Red Table Talk.
“I was alone, sitting by a pool and waiting for somebody to come have a meeting with me. And I saw this woman and her husband had a glass of champagne. It looked really nice, and I was like, ‘I can do that, too,’” she shared in the June 2021 interview. “And the next day, I had two glasses. And the day after that, it was bottles.”
Osbourne also reflected on how a medical procedure started her addiction when she was younger, noting, “I had a really bad case of tonsillitis. They ended up having to give me some crazy surgery and then after that they gave me Vicodin and that was all I needed.”
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Demi Lovato, who first entered rehab for drug and alcohol addiction in 2010, has used their experience to help others who may be struggling with similar problems.
“I think I turned to those coping mechanisms because I genuinely was in so much pain that I didn’t want to die, and I didn’t know what else to do. I did the best that I could at times, and now that I have other tools and other resources, I know how else to deal and how else to cope so I don’t have to resort to those behaviors again,” Lovato revealed in an episode of the “Yeah No, I’m Not OK” podcast in March 2021.
The singer previously sought treatment and entered a sober house in 2013, but relapsed after six years of sobriety and was rushed to the hospital following a near-fatal drug overdose in 2018.
Following the harrowing journey, Lovato shared what led to the relapse in their Dancing With the Devil docuseries in March 2021, later clarifying that they decided not to completely remove marijuana and alcohol from their life.
“I think I want to try this balance thing in the substance side of my life too,” the Disney Channel alum told Glamour magazine at the time. “A one-size-fits-all solution does not work for everybody. Any path that is right for someone else does not mean that it is an effective, meaningful, safe path for you. … What I’m encouraging people to do is just make choices for themselves. Autonomy, for me, is what changed my life.”
Scroll down for all the stars who bravely got sober in private, then shared the inspiring news with fans by coming clean on getting clean:
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
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Delilah Belle Hamlin
Lisa Rinna‘s daughter revealed in February 2022 that she was six months sober after accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs. While speaking to Flaunt magazine in December 2022, Hamlin noted that she felt “grateful” to have survived her “hard times.”
She continued: “I haven’t really spoken about why I became sober. I chose to be sober because of the seizures that I was starting to have because of brain inflammation. I’ve been a year and some months sober from alcohol and other things. I don’t think about it. I love this lifestyle. I wouldn’t push it on anyone, but it’s definitely an amazing feeling. It’s such an interesting word, the word ‘sober.’ It’s shown me the connotations that come with it — like, ‘She’s an addict.’ No, I’m really just living my life without substances to get me to feel something. I feel enough.”
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Sam Worthington
The Avatar: The Way of Water actor reflected on being eight years sober in a December 2022 interview with Variety. “I couldn’t see it. I thought it was normal,” he said of his drinking habits. “I didn’t like who I was. Drinking helped me get through the day.”
Worthington noted that he would have his first drink in the morning. “Nine out of 10 people couldn’t tell. They could probably smell it on me, but when they looked at me, they couldn’t tell,” he said. “I was still doing my job — I just don’t think I was doing it very well.”
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Tom Felton
In his debut memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard — released in October 2022 — the actor behind Draco Malfoy revealed his past battles with substance abuse. “It came to the point where I would think nothing of having a drink while I was working,” he wrote about his post-Harry Potter struggles. After his team and then-girlfriend staged an intervention for him, he attended rehab three times. While he left the first and got kicked out of the second, he ultimately chose to go to a third after “the numbness” eventually returned.
“It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make,” he shared about his third trip to a mental health facility — but one he is grateful he made, noting that he hopes that in sharing his story he will be able to help others.
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Shia LaBeouf
“I write to you now with 627 days of sobriety and a moral compass that never existed before my great humbling that was the last year and a quarter of my life,” the Honey Boy star told Variety in an August 2022 open letter.
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Charles Kelley
In August 2022, the singer’s band Lady A postponed their Request Line Tour amid Kelley’s sobriety journey.
“Being on the road with our fans is our greatest joy, so it was a hard but important decision to make,” the country music group wrote via Instagram at the time. “We are a band, but more importantly … we’re family. We’re proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety.”
The statement continued: “So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together. It’s early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together. We’re grateful for your patience.”
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Jamie Campbell Bower
“12 and a half years ago I was in active addiction,” Bower tweeted in July 2022. “Hurting myself and those around me who I loved the most. It got so bad that eventually I ended up in a hospital for mental health. I am now 7 1/2 years clean and sober.”
In the lengthy social media post, the Stranger Things star reflected on his “many mistakes” that he used to grow as a person. “For anyone who wakes up thinking, ‘Oh God not again.’ I promise you there’s a way,” he continued. “I’m so grateful to be where I am, I’m so grateful to be sober. I’m so grateful to be. Remember, we are all works in progress.”
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Macklemore
“I relapsed during the first summer of Covid. Today I have 694 days clean,” the performer wrote via TikTok in July 2022. In the clip, a snippet of Macklemore’s song “CHANT” played in the background which addressed his ups and downs amid the road to recovery.
“20k deep, better pull out your phones / Turnin’ the arena to believers every time I hit the ceiling / Ain’t nobody ever touchin’ my show / Look at where we started, look at where we got to / Almost OD’d that night in the hospital,” he rapped. “Wasn’t gonna die, more life in the arsenal / Got another shot to pull off the impossible.”
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Florence Welch
The “Dog Days” singer called sobriety “the best thing I ever did” during a July 2022 appearance on Munroe Bergdorf‘s “The Way We Were” podcast.
“It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I had a problem with drinking because I was one of those drinkers where [it was all or nothing],” the English singer said. “If I enjoy my drinking, I can’t control it and if I control my drinking, I don’t enjoy it. That was a real wake-up call for me.”
Welch told the podcaster it was “fine to be a chaotic mess” when she was a relatively unknown artist, but knew she had to make a change after the release of her Grammy-nominated album Ceremonials in 2012. “I was like, ‘This has to be contained. This can’t leak out into the public sphere,'” she said.
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Hayden Panettiere
The Heroes alum recalled the “cycle of self-destruction” that came along with her addiction to opioids and alcohol during a candid interview with People in July 2022. “This hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs,” the Heroes alum said of her sobriety journey. “But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”
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Nicki Minaj
“I used to b [sic] happy when I was high. Now I’m happy when I’m sober,” the rapper tweeted in April 2022. “No judgement to anyone. Be gentle with yourself.” She went on to tell her followers that she was “sober & loving life” after sharing a video of herself cooking fried chicken.
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Dave Coulier
In March 2022, the Full House alum revealed that he got sober in 2020 after a drunken night that left his face bloodied. “I was a drunk. Yes. An alcoholic,” he wrote via Instagram, sharing a photo of his face after the accident. “I’ve been alcohol free since January 1, 2020. When I drank, I was the life of the party. I could make people laugh until they fell down. In this picture I was the one who fell down. Not because I was playing hockey or doing the things I love — like chopping wood or doing construction, golfing, fishing or flying airplanes. I was hammered and fell, going up some stairs made of stone.”
The comedian went on to thank his wife, Melissa Coulier, for helping him make a change. “The mental and physical withdrawal were big challenges for me, but I was supported by @melissacoulier and friends who had already made the journey,” he wrote. “The psychological and physical transformation has been amazing. The sky is more blue, my heart is no longer closed, and I enjoy making people laugh until they fall down more than ever before. Thank you, Melissa, for being by my side. I love you❤️.”
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Jack Harlow
The “Nail Tech” musician told Rolling Stone in March 2022 that he feels much better since he quit drinking one year earlier.
“I’m sick of waking up with a dry throat, sick of feeling bloated, I’m sick of the decisions I make on it,” Harlow told the outlet. “I’m in my well-oiled-machine era. Because I can see my future right in front of me. And I feel there’s so many people counting on me outside of myself. I just feel like I’m a man. I don’t feel like I need to do boyish things anymore.”
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Rob Lowe
The 9-1-1: Lone Star actor celebrated 31 years of sobriety in May 2021.
“I want to give thanks to everyone walking this path with me, and welcome anyone thinking about joining us; the free and the happy.” Lowe wrote via Instagram at the time. “And a big hug to my family for putting up with me!! Xoxo.”
The actor has previously credited wife Sheryl Berkoff for helping him reevaluate his life.
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Jane Lynch
The Glee alum recalled her struggles with alcohol addiction during an interview with The Guardian in February 2022, revealing she got sober for a second time after relapsing years ago. Lynch explained that after going to AA for years, having a successful career and doing therapy, she began drinking again — and quickly learned she couldn’t just have one drink.
“I became a connoisseur of wine in a way that only an alcoholic can,” she shared of her relapse, noting she drank while starring on Paramount+’s The Good Fight, which she appeared on from 2017 to 2021. “I went back into denial, after all those years of sobriety and self-knowledge. I fooled myself — I woke up one day and went: ‘I’m back.'”
Lynch recalled being able to fool her close friends during that time, saying, “I remember a friend said: ‘I told you you’re not an alcoholic anymore.’ I’d go: ‘I know!'” The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress is now sober, adding that she stopped drinking again just six months after her relapse.
“[It was] like the sober fairy said, ‘OK, I’m giving you one more chance,'” she said. “And it was over. Five o’clock would come and I didn’t notice it.”
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Shaun Weiss
“Here’s a better comparison shot—-> What a triumph,” Drew Gallagher shared via Instagram in January 2022, alongside side-by-side photos of the Mighty Ducks actor. “Congrats @shaunweiss on 2 years sober!!! 🎉🎉🎉 So proud of you brotha—look at you now🙌 .”
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Bella Hadid
“I have done my fair share of drinking. I loved alcohol and it got to the point where even I started to, you know, cancel nights out that I felt like I wouldn’t be able to control myself,” the Kin Euphorics founder told InStyle in January 2022. “I don’t feel the need [to drink alcohol] because I know how it will affect me at 3 in the morning when I wake up with horrible anxiety thinking about that one thing I said five years ago when I graduated high school. There’s just this never-ending effect of, essentially, you know, pain and stress over those few drinks that didn’t really do much, you know?”
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Holly Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay’s daughter shared an inspiring message for those who “continue to take it day by day” on their sobriety journeys, revealing in December 2021 that she chose to “take a break from alcohol” one year prior. “This time last year I was at my lowest and I was scared but I made a decision to take control of what I could – and that meant removing alcohol from my life,” she wrote via Instagram. “It was not an easy decision, nor one that I have taken lightly. … Living without alcohol has helped me feel better & more present both mentally and physically.”
Holly noted that she wasn’t certain if she’d be sober “forever,” adding, “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a year of high highs and low lows but I’m grateful I gave myself the chance to work through them consciously rather than mask my feelings (good or bad) with a drink.”
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Drew Barrymore
The actress revealed on CBS This Morning in December 2021 that she quit drinking alcohol two and a half years prior. “It was something I realized just did not serve me and my life,” she said, noting that she’s “been very private with a lot of struggles” because of social media.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a revolt against the perfection right now that we are all forced to see and feel through social media,” Barrymore explained. “We’re in an impasse and a crux of a moment where talking about how we figure ourselves out, how we fix ourselves takes a journey and solutions. Most people do it in private.”
Barrymore was previously candid about her battle with drugs as a teenager.
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Edie Falco
“I was a non-drinker for years, then I had my first drink at college and I found nirvana,” the Sopranos alum recalled to The Guardian in December 2021, even convincing herself that she worked better while hungover. “It was the answer to all my problems and the cause of all my other problems. … I was a big fan of cocaine if it was around, but I could never afford any, and marijuana just gave me anxiety.”
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Adele
“I stopped drinking. That’s one great way of really sort of getting to know yourself is being sober,” the Grammy winner said during her November 2021 CBS tell-all, noting that she cut out alcohol amid her divorce from Simon Konecki. “Not at the beginning. At first, I kept the alcohol industry alive. But once I realized I had a lot of work to do on myself, I stopped drinking and started working out lots to keep me sort of centered.”
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Josh Brolin
The Avengers: Endgame actor celebrated nearly a decade of the “most punk rock sobriety” with a lengthy tribute to his wife, Kathryn Boyd Brolin, and their two children Wesley Reign and Chapel Grace.
“Sobriety is climbing in your truck for a 6 a.m. call after eight years of sobriety and there being a card from your wife telling you how grateful she is for you having made the decision to put it down and to live instead, accompanied by a collage board of your children — what was created because of that decision,” he wrote via Instagram in November 2021.
He continued, “Sobriety is when your children look at you and trust what they see.”
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Stacey Dash
During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, Dash opened up about the height of her addiction where she ended up taking between 18 and 20 Vicodin pills per day.
“It was my choice to take that extra one even though I wasn’t in pain. I chose to do that because the Vicodin filled that hole inside of me,” the Clueless actress said in October 2021. “It filled that anger. It calmed that anger down. It slowed my brain down. It gave me the ease so that I could deal with life. That’s how I became addicted. It’s no one’s fault but my own.”
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Tim McGraw
The country crooner recalled how his wife, Faith Hill, helped inspire him to get sober, he wrote in an essay for Esquire magazine, published in August 2021.
“I remember a moment when I was getting out of bed and going to the liquor cabinet and taking a big shot at 8:00 in the morning and thinking, ‘I have to wake the kids up.’ I went straight to my wife and said, ‘This is where I’m at.’ I was scared. She just grabbed me and hugged me and changed my life.”
He added, “I didn’t know love could feel so good. Was it an emotion? Was it a lifestyle? Was it an imaginary thing? But love is all of those things.”
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Kit Harington
The actor admitted that his struggles with drinking started during Game of Thrones but hit a new low after the HBO hit ended. “You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person. And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are,” Harington told The Sunday Times in August 2021.
The Londoner continued, “Getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change.’ One of my favorite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots. I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”
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Kehlani
The “Nights Like This” singer opened up about her decision to stop smoking marijuana in an August 2021 TikTok video.
“I used to smoke a lot of weed and now I speak on it in a past tense perspective. People think I’m s—ting on weed, I’m not! I loved weed when I was involved with it,” she said. “It’s a beautiful plant with very nice properties when used correctly. I don’t think that I was using it correctly. I think I was overusing it. I wasn’t the most productive pothead.”
The California native went on to note that smoking was hurting her vocal cords.
“I got to a point where I couldn’t eat, sleep or be at a social gathering. I couldn’t kick it without smoking weed and I just didn’t want it to have that hold on my life anymore,” she added. “And also my throat and lungs were tired of me.”
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The Weeknd
The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, revealed in August 2021 that he has stopped using hard drugs. “Drugs were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it,” he told GQ at the time. “And I’ve spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don’t need it. Because for a lot of people, it’s hard to shake it. But I knew I didn’t want it.”
He added that he considers himself “sober lite,” as he still smokes marijuana and drinks sometimes.
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Lily Allen
Allen shared multiple selfies via Instagram in July 2021 holding up a chip that read, “Clean and Serene for eighteen months.” The singer captioned the still, “Would recommend!”
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Jamie Lee Curtis
In February 2021, the Halloween star shared a massive sober milestone. “With God’s grace and the support of MANY people who could relate to all the ‘feelings’ and a couple of sober angels…I’ve been able to stay sober, one day at a time, for 22 years,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I was a high bottom, pun kind of intended, so the rare photo of me proudly drinking in a photo op is very useful to help me remember.”
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Demi Lovato
The singer reflected on how several factors led to their relapse and eventual overdose in 2018.
“I asked for help and I didn’t receive the help that I needed. So I was stuck in this unhappy position. Here I am sober and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’m six years sober, but I’m miserable. I’m even more miserable than I was when I was drinking. Why am I sober?’” Lovato said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in March 2020. “Ultimately, I made the decisions that got me to where I am today. It was my actions that put me in the position that I’m in.”
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Christy Carlson Romano
The Kim Possible voice actress celebrated being five years sober with a TikTok video highlighting her biggest accomplishments.
“Graduated from [an] IVY league, Sober for 5 years, Have 2 daughters,” she captioned a clip of her lip-syncing the song “Know Yourself” by Drake in July 2021.
The actress previously wrote in an op-ed piece for Teen Vogue about how being famous pushed her to self-destructive actions, revealing that she hadn’t had any alcohol since before her first pregnancy with husband Brendan Rooney.
“I was highly criticized for my youth, which fueled my desire to prove everybody wrong. I became a bit harder-edged, binge-drank more at loud nightclubs, and started to accept the transient natures of love, sex, and friendship. Growing up, I entertained thousands of families only to feel completely lonely,” the Even Stevens alum wrote in May 2019. “People were as replaceable as they had deemed me to be. Imposter syndrome had stiff competition against my self-hatred at that point.”
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Patricia Heaton
The Everybody Loves Raymond star posted a video in July 2021, sharing an exciting milestone. “It’s July when we celebrate our nation’s freedom. Also celebrating three years of freedom from alcohol for me,” she said while on a three-mile hike. “Just wanted to share that with you. And message me if any of you are thinking about doing that, any of you are doing that now and need some encouragement or anything at all. Have a great day.”
The Middle star revealed her kids were the reason why she decided to get sober in a candid September 2021 interview on the “Heart of the Matter” podcast.
While she drank shooting the Ray Romano-led sitcom, which ran from 1996 to 2005, her drinking got worse after her four sons moved out. “I just noticed that if it was 5 p.m. and I don’t have anything to do the next day, I would start drinking automatically,” the actress said, adding that she “really started looking forward to drinking and thinking about it in a way that I hadn’t before.”
However, it was a birthday dinner for one of her sons that made her realize she had a problem.
“I was just filling my glass with red wine throughout the five or six hours that we were together. I don’t know how many glasses it was, and I felt completely sober and fine,” the Carol’s Second Act star said. “I was making a joke to the table, and I started saying, ‘You know, in our family it’s a tradition …’ And I could not pronounce the word ‘tradition.’ I tried three times, and I couldn’t say the word.”
One of her sons remarked on her inability to say the word in front of everyone. “And I was so humiliated,” she says, adding, “It shook me up. I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s it’ … It had every element that I needed. It had a logical element and had this, ‘Oh, my gosh, my sons have seen me drink too much.’”
The next day at breakfast, the Back To You actress said she told a friend, “Well, you’re the first person I’m telling this to, but this is my first day of never drinking again.”
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Jack Osbourne
“It’s not that it gets easier or harder, it’s just that it’s life on life’s terms. If anyone is trying to get sober, know that it is possible if you are willing to do the work. Sending lots of love to my people who have been on this journey with me. #sobersbetter,” the Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour alum wrote via Instagram in April 2021 celebrating 18 years of sobriety.
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Margo Price
In an essay for GQ, the singer revealed that when she stopped drinking alcohol in January 2021, that was “the most rebellious thing” she’s ever done. “I drank because I was worried about the state of the world, I drank because I was bored, I drank because I missed tour, I drank because I was unemployed, I drank because everyone else drinks,” she revealed. “And I drank even though I didn’t really want to.”
Price also said that she’s figured out “a version of not drinking that works” for her. “I’m not attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and I haven’t apologized to the people in my life. As women, we are always saying we are sorry. The only one I feel the need to beg forgiveness from is myself. … I don’t identify as an alcoholic, and I have no regrets for the decisions I’ve made in my life. I believe everything happens for a reason. But I also believe that quitting drinking has made parenting and work easier.”
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Florence Welch
The Florence + The Machine frontwoman celebrated seven years of sobriety in February 2021. “I am 7 years sober today. I send my love and support to anyone who is struggling,” she captioned an Instagram post of a heart painting. “If you are feeling shaky around ED issues, drugs or alcohol, I completely understand. The desire to disassociate is so strong. But please don’t give up. We are going to need you on the other side.♥️.”
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Macklemore
The “Thrift Shop” rapper said on “People’s Party With Talib Kweli” in January 2021 that he “was about to die” at age 25 before his father, Bill Haggerty, paid more than $10,000 for him to go to a 30-day rehab. “I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s not to be f–king dramatic — that’s just what it is,” Macklemore, who relapsed in 2011 and 2014, said on the podcast.
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Chrissy Teigen
The cookbook author revealed in December 2020 that she was “four weeks sober” while responding to a fan’s comment on her dancing video about wanting “whatever drugs” she was on. That same month, she shared that Holly Whitaker’s book, Quit Like a Woman, inspired her sobriety journey.
“One month ago, on my birthday, I got this book from my doctor and friend,” Teigen wrote via her Instagram Stories. “I was done with making an ass of myself in front of people (I’m still embarrassed), tired of day drinking and feeling like shit by 6, not being able to sleep. I have been sober ever since.”
The Cravings author marked her 50-day streak in September 2021.
“Today is my 50-day sobriety streak,” she captioned an Instagram video of her attempt to work out with her kids. “It should be nearly a year but I had a few (wine) hiccups in the road. This is my longest streak yet! I still dunno if I’ll never drink again but I do know it no longer serves me in ANY way. I don’t get more fun, I don’t dance, I don’t get relaxed. I get sick, fall asleep and wake up sick, having missed what was probably a fun night.”
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Anthony Hopkins
The Silence of the Lambs star announced in a Twitter video in December 2020 that he had reached a major milestone in his sobriety. “Forty-five years ago today, I had a wake-up call. I was headed for disaster, I was drinking myself to death,” he recalled, noting that his “life has been amazing” ever since he gave up alcohol. Hopkins went on to share an encouraging message to people struggling with substance abuse, saying in part, “Hang in there. Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday. Young people, don’t give up. Just keep in there.”
In December 2022, the Hannibal actor celebrated 47 years of sobriety and posted a heartfelt video to commemorate the occasion.
“I just want to wish everyone a happy new year and also to say I’m celebrating 47 years today of sobriety,” he said in the clip. “This is a message not meant to be heavy, but I hope helpful. I am a recovering alcoholic. And to you out there — I know there are people struggling.”
He continued: “In this day and age of cancel and hatred and non-compromise, children being bullied, I say [this]: Be kind to yourself. Be kind. Stay out of the circle of toxicity with people, if they offend you. Live your life. Be proud of your life.”
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French Montana
The Moroccan rapper revealed he hadn’t consumed alcohol since he landed in the ICU for nearly two weeks in November 2019. “Too much drinking, too many pills, you know, boom,” he said during a December 2020 interview with XXL. “It was just overdoing something for too long. And, to the point where now [being] sober is becoming my new high. People [saw] I was out of control, not me, you know what I’m saying? Because, it’s almost like working out. You don’t see [yourself] getting big because you see yourself every day. It’s the same thing with you being out of control.”
Before his hospitalization, Montana’s drug use was “a hobby” that eventually transformed into “being an addiction.” In the year since his health scare, the Grammy nominee has faced life with a new perspective. “I think that was the hardest thing I ever did in my life, to snatch myself back,” he told XXL. “So, for me to stop everything and just step back, that was, like, one of my biggest accomplishments.”
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Ruston Kelly
The “Mockingbird” singer celebrated two years of being sober in December 2020, telling his Instagram followers that he felt “happy and grateful and very very very lucky.” Three months prior, he opened up about his struggles and noted that he wanted to “be as transparent and honest as possible” when it came to his past. “I’ve always had an issue with self-control in my life. I’ve been emotionally reckless at times and I’ve definitely abused myself with copious amounts of drugs and illicit materials and doing crazy things, and being wild without purpose and that is dangerous,” he told Esquire in September 2020. “It could be creatively fueling, but I think what’s really helped ground me is learning the difference between creative spontaneity and emotional recklessness in everyday life.”
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Miley Cyrus
The singer celebrated six months of sobriety in June 2020 after undergoing a “really big vocal surgery” the previous November. “I did a lot of family history, which has a lot of addiction and mental health challenges,” she told Variety at the time. “So just going through that and asking, ‘Why am I the way that I am?’ By understanding the past, we understand the present and the future much more clearly. The former Disney Channel star revealed in November 2020 that she was two weeks sober after having a setback amid the coronavirus pandemic. “I fell off and I realized that I now am back on sobriety, two weeks sober, and I feel like I really accepted that time,” Cyrus told Zane Lowe during an Apple Music’s New Music Daily interview. “One of the things I’ve used is, ‘Don’t get furious, get curious.’ So don’t be mad at yourself, but ask yourself, ‘What happened?’ To me, it was a f—k up because I’m not a moderation person, and I don’t think that everyone has to be f—king sober.”
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Paula Meronek
“Keep calm because 7 years sober is sexy as hell,” the Real World alum, who last appeared on MTV in 2013’s The Challenge: Rivals II, posted via Instagram in November 2020. “2556 days.”
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Cheryl Burke
The Dancing With the Stars pro revealed she is two years sober during a September 2020 episode of the “LadyGang” podcast. “It was just a decision that I made for myself,” she said. “And it was when Matt [Lawrence] and I got engaged and it was during that engagement party that we were just like — or that I was like, he didn’t even know — I was just like, I was done. My father passed away — and then my dad was an alcoholic — so either I was gonna crash and burn and check myself into rehab or I was gonna just quit cold turkey. That’s just my personality. It’s either black or white.”
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Lily Allen
“1 year completely sober !” the “Smile” singer wrote via Instagram in July 2020 alongside a series of bikini selfies. “So grateful for my health and happiness.”
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Leah McSweeney
The Real Housewives of New York City star showed off her three-month sobriety coin via Instagram in June 2020. “I spent most of my adult life not drinking. Living without alcohol is much more normal to me than living with alcohol,” McSweeney, who was previously sober for nine years, told Us Weekly exclusively earlier that month.
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Carl Radke
The Summer House star revealed to Us exclusively in May 2020 that he got sober. “I do have so many issues and I wanted to actually get help that’s directly, you know, attacking the alcohol component,” he said on the “Hot Hollywood” podcast. “That’s something I’d never done before. So, I’m proud of myself.”
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Heather Locklear
The Melrose Place alum got sober in April 2019 after seeking treatment several times and having multiple run-ins with the law. She celebrated one year of sobriety via Instagram in April 2020, writing, “Hugs will come later!”
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Tim Allen
The Home Improvement alum revealed on The Kelly Clarkson Show in March 2020 that he has been free of drugs and alcohol “for about 22 years.” He said, “It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a day-to-day thing. You gotta reprise every day.”
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Jenna Jameson
The former adult film star announced in September 2019 that she was four years clean. “We do recover. We do overcome. We do rebuild,” she wrote via Instagram. “But we never forget. We still have scars. They fade. The sun begins to shine and close out the shadows. Trust returns.”
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Noah Centineo
The Fosters alum revealed that he got sober one day before celebrating his 21st birthday. “I had been partying quite a bit when I lived in LA. I was having a really good time. When I was turning 21, I was like, ‘Damn, I’ve been partying like crazy since I was 17,’” he admitted in a video that resurfaced to Twitter in August 2018. “I was like, ‘Wow, maybe I should take a break.’ So I stopped doing all that and I found that a lot of problems I was having in my life, slowly — they didn’t go away, they just became way more apparent to me.”
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Jessica Simpson
The fashion designer stopped drinking in November 2017 after turning to alcohol and pills to cope with the sexual abuse she endured as a child. “When I finally said I needed help, it was like I was that little girl that found her calling again in life,” she told People magazine in January 2020. “I found direction and that was to walk straight ahead with no fear. Honesty is hard but it’s the most rewarding thing we have. And getting to the other side of fear is beautiful.”
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Colton Haynes
The Teen Wolf alum announced in March 2019 that he is six months sober after quietly battling drug and alcohol addiction for a decade. “I got married [to Jeff Leatham in 2018] and that didn’t work out. That was extremely public and heartbreaking, and right when that was going on, my mom died,” he told Attitude magazine. Haynes revealed that he hit rock bottom when he locked himself in a hotel room during a seven-day bender and “ended up in [a] 5150 psych hold.” He completed a four-month treatment program soon after.
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Ronnie Ortiz-Magro
The Jersey Shore star revealed exclusively to Us in February 2019 that he was a month sober. “I decided to go to treatment because I wanted to be a better person, a better father for my daughter,” Ortiz-Magro said, confirming he finished a month-long rehab stint at Headwaters treatment center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 10. The MTV star has had multiple highly publicized, under-the-influence blow-ups over the past year with his former partner Jen Harley. “I think it’s a chronic disease. It’s a progressive disease. I’m still struggling,” the father of 10-month-old Ariana said of alcoholism. “You stop and you start up again, and it’s worse than when you stopped. You’re just like, ‘Wow, I thought I had this under control,’ but at the end of the day, it has full control over you.”
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Spencer Matthews
The Made in Chelsea alum — and Pippa Middleton’s brother-in-law — announced in a January 7, 2018 Instagram post that he had embraced sobriety. “Been sober 7 months now and cannot begin to explain the difference in my life… 2018 for me was a complete game changer and I now feel like the best version of myself. Happy, active, busy and focused,” said the formerly hard-partying British reality star. Matthews, who welcomed his first baby with his model wife, Vogue Williams, in September 2018, added, “Being the best husband to @voguewilliams and the best father to Theodore is priority number one and always will be… Onwards and upwards is the only way!! Much love x”
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Ryan Adams
The singer-songwriter revealed on Twitter in late December 2018 that he was two months sober. “2018: you brought me to my knees. It turns out that’s where I needed to be: in prayer for everyone here or lost,” he captioned a photo of his sobriety coin. “In these trying times, God bless everyone struggling or on the path to empathy, kindness and recovery. Keep the Faith. & may the Faith keep you. XO.”
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Lala Kent
The Vanderpump Rules star revealed in December 2018 that she was two months sober. “Today marks 60 days that I’ve been sober and it’s been the best 60 days that I’ve had in a really long time,” Kent told fans via her Instagram Story. “Thank you to my sponsor, thanks to my sober coach, people in my meetings that tell me to keep taking it day by day.”
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Eliza Dushku
The Bring It On alum first opened up about her battle with alcoholism and drug addiction at the New Hampshire Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness in Manchester, New Hampshire, in March 2017. Dushku revealed she started experimenting with marijuana at the age of 14 and continued to abuse substances for many years. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress told the audience that she decided to get clean when her brother told her she could not see her niece while she was under the influence. Dushku recently celebrated 10 years of being sober in November 2018. “Asking for help #odaat saved my life,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “If you’re struggling w #alcohol &/or #drug #addiction, I promise, you don’t have to live that way anymore.”
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John Mayer
The “Waiting on the World To Change” singer can thank Drake for helping him get clean. Mayer revealed in the November 2018 cover story of Complex that he hadn’t had a drink since Drake’s 30th birthday party two years earlier. After making “a fool” of himself at the rapper’s October 2016 bash and suffering a six-day hangover, Mayer says he asked himself, “‘OK, John, what percentage of your potential would you like to have? Because if you say you’d like 60, and you’d like to spend the other 40 having fun, that’s fine. But what percentage of what is available to you would you like to make happen? There’s no wrong answer. What is it?’ I went, ‘100.’” He added of alcohol, “If you look at drinking the way you would look at anything else, which is risk-reward, what am I giving up? What am I getting? It’s some of the worst odds that ever existed.”
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Lena Dunham
On the October 29, 2018, episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert, the Girls creator revealed that she had been misusing prescription pills unbeknownst to the public. “I’ve been sober for six months,” said the actress, adding, “My particular passion was Klonopin.” She went on to admit, “I do see the way that the way I medicated myself negatively impacted people around me and decimated my decision-making and hurt my creativity, and so I just feel, like, literally on-my-knees grateful every single day.”
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Jason Biggs
He celebrated his first year of sobriety with a big announcement. “I first tried to get sober over 5 years ago, when the weight of my obsession with booze and drugs became too heavy for me to handle,” he wrote on Instagram on October 11, 2018, next to a photo of an Alcoholics Anonymous chip. “Turns out this s—t is hard. After some fits and starts, I’ve managed to put together one year of sobriety.” The American Pie actor also shared a message of encouragement: “If you’re struggling, there’s help. Don’t be ashamed. We can do this.”
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Eminem
The rapper had been open about his former sleeping pill and Vicodin addictions in the past — as well as his relapses. But he remained relatively quiet about his continuing sober journey until April 21, 2018, when he posted a photo of himself on Instagram holding up an Alcoholics Anonymous coin with the Roman numeral X on it. “Celebrated my 10 years yesterday,” he captioned the pic.
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Brad Pitt
Though it’s hard for one of the most famous people in the world to do anything privately, Pitt announced in GQ’s May 2017 issue that he was relatively far into the process of recovery. “I was boozing too much. It’s just become a problem. And I’m really happy it’s been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I’ve got my feelings in my fingertips again. I think that’s part of the human challenge: You either deny them all of your life or you answer them and evolve,” the actor, who was about six months into his divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie at the time, said. Not that it was easy. “Truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good,” he confessed of his drinking habits. But he stopped for a simple reason: “Don’t want to live that way anymore,” he declared.
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Daniel Radcliffe
The Harry Potter star revealed in GQ UK’s July 2011 issue that he hadn’t had a drink since August 2010. “I became so reliant on [alcohol] to enjoy stuff,” he said, adding that he frequently blacked out. “There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me.” In 2016, the star, who has said he preferred whiskey, told the UK’s Telegraph that he’d had a brief relapse — but was three years sober again at that point.
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Kelly Osbourne
The reality star frequently talked about rehab and sobriety for years. On August 9, 2018, she took to Instagram to share that she’d had a relapse — but was celebrating a year of sobriety once again.
“This past year has been one of the hardest years of my life and I feel it’s time share that with you guys. To cut a long story short things got really dark… The only way I knew how to function was to self medicate and go from project to project so I never had to focus on what was really going on with me,” she wrote.
Osbourne turned her life around through her own hard work and with the help of family and friends. “I could not have done this with out there love and support. I can’t believe It’s been a year!!!,” she continued. “I can whole heartedly confess that I’m finally at peace with myself and truly starting to understand what true happiness is.”
Osbourne revealed in April 2021 that she relapsed again after almost four years of sobriety.
“I relapsed. Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” the former Fashion Police host said via her Instagram Story.
The Masked Singer alum confirmed that she is currently sober and would continue to be sober from here on out.
“But I’ve learned it truly is just one day at a time,” she explained. “And I just want to tell you guys the truth because I never, ever want to lie to you. Thank you so much for your support and your love.”
