Sober Confessions: Celebs Who Announced They Gave Up Drugs, Alcohol

Studies show that there are several benefits to cutting back alcohol consumption — even for moderate drinkers. From Blake Lively to Kendrick Lamar…these are the celebrities you won’t see with a drink in their hand. Jessica Baxter has over a decade of experience in web journalism, including writing movie reviews for Film Threat, Hammer to Nail, and Film International, and acting as Seattle City Editor for Not For Tourists. Additionally, she has written and directed several award-winning short films, including the horror-comedy, «Snow Day, Bloody Snow Day» and the black romantic comedy, «Love & 145 Watts». Today, he’s back on the wagon and his creative juices are flowing.

In an interview with GQ UK in 2012, Lana Del Rey opened up about her struggles with alcohol and drugs as a teen. Many celebrities in need of alcohol abuse treatment attend private inpatient facilities that specialize in shielding them from the public eye as much as possible. Betty Ford, the wife of former President Gerald Ford, suffered from alcoholism and addiction to painkillers. She raised public awareness of addiction by confessing to her long-time battle with alcoholism in the 1970s.

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Barry also struggled with extramarital affairs throughout his life. Franklin discussed his SUD throughout his writings, mainly because he did not see it as a problem. Franklin’s condition worsened and he wrote, “Little remains of me but a skeleton covered in a skin.”8 He died at the end of 1790 still struggling with substance abuse.

She admits to her crystal meth addiction, which began when she was 16. This was when she went to Crossroads School for Arts and Science, a private prep college. She took high levels of meth right away and became addicted very quickly.

Demi Lovato

Moreover, rather than tempting her to relapse into substance abuse, Falco said playing Jackie’s character reaffirmed her journey to recovery. Brad Pitt has been in the film industry for three decades as an actor and producer of several successful films. Behind the scenes, however, he had been struggling with a long-term battle with drugs and alcohol. After a public divorce and custody battle in 2017, he opened up about his alcohol and drug addiction issues and his attempts to stay sober.

Edison drank Vin Mariani – wine mixed with cocaine – quite regularly. The side effects of drinking large amounts line up with Edison’s sleeplessness and energy. Similar to other historical figures, more research is required to fully understand Edison’s sober house substance use disorder and the negative effects it had on him. Benjamin Franklin was a well-known American scientist, politician, writer, and inventor. However, Franklin struggled with alcohol and opioid abuse throughout his lifetime.

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Clapton recovered, but he continued misusing alcohol and cocaine for years. In 1998, he built the Crossroads Centre for alcohol and drug treatment on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Sir Elton John says when his friend, the young AIDS activist Ryan White, died in 1990, he felt a lot of regret that he had spent the previous decade absorbed in alcohol and cocaine misuse. He sought treatment in 1990 and established the Elton John AIDS Foundation 2 years later. The Real Housewives of New York City star showed off her three-month sobriety coin via Instagram in June 2020. 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.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs provide peer support. When combined with treatment led by medical professionals, they can offer valuable support. Each year in July, celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D looks forward to celebrating another year of sobriety on social media. In 2013, King opened up to The Guardianabout his former alcohol addiction, describing how he’s not ashamed of his past. He said, “There’s a thing in AA, something they read in a lot of meetings, “The Promises.” Most of those promises have come true in my life, We’ll come to know a new freedom and new happiness, that’s true.

Throughout her life, she struggled with an alcohol abuse disorder. Richards had to face her problem when her friends came together to intervene with the addiction. He struggled with bipolar disorder, severe depression, and paranoid delusions.11 Throughout his life, Hemingway also had an alcohol abuse disorder. Freud struggled with cocaine use throughout his career after he started experimenting with it as a way to cure morphine addiction. Freud began using cocaine to combat negative emotions.7 Freud would start his recovery from cocaine addiction after one of his patients died of an overdose in the 1890s. Today, Downey is a well-known actor and has starred in roles such as Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.

• Ford passed away in 2016, two years after withdrawing his reelection bid for mayor.
• Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor abused prescription painkillers and alcohol for much of her life.
• I knew that it was affecting my personal relationships, it was affecting my professional relationships, it was affecting my family.
• Eventually, drinking became a crutch, and McGraw felt completely unable to perform without it.
• Whether Richie had a co-occurring disorder is still in question, but she takes responsibility for her own self-destructive patterns.

Barrymore was previously candid about her battle with drugs as a teenager. 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. From time to time, however, a celebrity will surprise the world and suddenly announce that they got sober. They keep their alcohol stashed in a secret location where their friends and family won’t find it, like in their desk or car. Alcoholics often suffer withdrawal symptoms if they are forced to stay sober or are cut off from their alcohol supply.