Celebrities Who Talked About Their Sobriety Journeys: Anne Hathaway, Adele, Chrissy Teigen and More

Anne Hathaway

Five years ago, Anne Hathaway gave up alcohol. “I knew deep down it wasn’t for me,” the actress told Vanity Fair in March 2024. It wasn’t easy, though. “It just felt so extreme to have to say, ‘But none?’ But none,” she admitted. “If you’re allergic to something or have an anaphylactic reaction to something, you don’t argue with it. So I stopped arguing with it.” Once she made the decision to quit drinking, her life changed for the “better,” said the Oscar winner.

“For me, [alcohol] was wallowing fuel. And I don’t like to wallow,” Anne explained. “The thing that I have faith in is that everybody else is going to have one or two drinks, and by the time everybody gets to two drinks, you’ll feel like you’ve had two drinks — but without the hangover.” After she and husband Adam Shulman welcomed their first child, son Jonathan, in 2016, Anne could no longer spend her mornings nursing a throbbing headache, not when there were school drop-offs to make.

“My issue is I just love [drinking]. But the way I do it makes me unavailable for my son,” the Devil Wears Prada star, who gave birth to a second little boy, Jack, in 2019, previously told Tatler. “When I’m at a stage in my life where there is enough space for me to have a hangover, I’ll start drinking again, but that won’t be until my [kids are] out of the house.”

Charlie Sheen

The longtime party-loving actor revealed in a December 7, 2023, interview that he was sober from alcohol for more than five years.

“Next month I’ll be six years sober,” he told People, adding, “I have a very consistent lifestyle now. It’s all about single dad stuff, and raising my 14-year-old twin boys Max and Bob.”

Charlie said he had given up drugs prior to putting down the bottle but had a wakeup call in 2017 with one of his two daughters, whom he shares with ex-wife Denise Richards, which made him quit booze cold turkey.

“One morning I’d forgotten my daughter had an appointment I’d promised to drive her to, and I’d already had a couple of pops that day. So, had to call my friend Tony to take us. We got her there on time, but it broke my heart because she was in the back seat and I could just tell she was thinking, ‘Why isn’t dad driving?’ So, I got home and sat with that for the rest of the day. And the next morning I just stopped.”

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman revealed that she stopped drinking after attending college at Harvard. Even before her college years, she wasn’t super into partying.

“OK, so I didn’t really go to high school parties,” she admitted in 2009. “And yeah, I didn’t touch pot [until] I was in my 20s. I didn’t get flat-out drunk until I went to college. But I think that’s a good thing in many ways.”

Adele

Adele
The singer revealed during an October 2023 Weekends With Adele Las Vegas residency show that she ​was three months sober, but she’s not too happy about it. “I stopped drinking maybe like three and a half months ago. It’s boring. I mean, I was literally borderline alcoholic for quite a lot of my ​20s, but I miss it so much,” Adele told the audience while also adding she “cut out caffeine.”

The “Hello” songstress even told one fan, “So enjoy your whiskey sour. I’m very, very jealous.”

AJ McLean

The Backstreet Boys member revealed he was two years sober in a September 26, 2023, Instagram video. In the caption he wrote, “Today I am blessed I am grateful I am SOBER! God is good and life is better! Thank you all for the years of support. One day at a time.”
AJ explained in the video, “Today is a very special day for me, And it’s been one hell of a journey. A lot of bumps in the road, a lot of highs, a lot of lows. But today is two years sober for me. I’m very grateful for everyone in my camp. I am extremely grateful to my sponsor and my therapist and to all the support that I’ve gotten throughout the years.”

Gisele Bundchen

The supermodel revealed she was more than two years sober during a September 2023 interview with People.

“I became more clear. I felt a bit more foggy before. Now, I’m very sharp and very present and I notice things that I didn’t notice before,” she said while listing off how her life “immediately” changed after cutting alcohol. “When I’m not drinking, I’m sleeping much better. You have to be loving to yourself. You ask a lot of your body, you’ve got to do a reset. You have got to take care of this only vehicle you got, right?”

Kyle Richards

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star opened up about her sobriety one year after embarking on her journey.

“A number of things made me come to the conclusion that I didn’t want to drink. First and foremost, I didn’t feel it had a place where I personally wanted to be,” Kyle shared via Instagram in July 2023. “I listened to my heart and the message was clear to me. I knew it was no longer serving me (no pun intended) physically, mentally or spiritually.”

She went on to say that she has “never felt better physically or been more clear mentally,” adding that it was “much easier” than she imagined.

Liam Payne

The One Direction alum shared he was sober nearly two years after he admitted to previously struggling with drugs and alcohol.

“I’m sober now [for] over 100 days. I feel amazing, I feel really, really good, and the support from the fans and everything has been really good, so I’m super happy,” Liam told iFL TV in May 2023.

Tom Holland

Tom revealed he was one year and four months sober in May 2023, while portraying the character Danny Sullivan – who struggles with dissociative identity disorder – in the series The Crowded Room.

“Learning about mental health and the power of it, and speaking to psychiatrists about Danny and Billy’s struggles, has been something that has been so informative to my own life,” the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor told Entertainment Weekly at the time.

During a July 2023 interview on the “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” podcast, Tom revealed that his sobriety journey began after a “very, very boozy” Christmas one year prior.

“It really scared me,” he admitted. “I just was like, ‘Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing.’ … I felt like I couldn’t be social. I felt like I couldn’t go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn’t go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling. I just sort of said to myself, like, ‘Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?'”

Tom Sandoval

The Vanderpump Rules star quit drinking in the aftermath of his cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss. He made the revelation to the audience in Westbury, New York, where his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras played in early May. “It’s been one month since I’ve had my last drink of alcohol,” he told the crowd.

However, Tom didn’t seem committed to a long-term sobriety journey. “I’m just taking a little break for a second,” he added while explaining to fans the beer he was drinking onstage was non-alcoholic.

During the debut episode of his podcast “Everybody Loves Tom” on September 28, 2023, the former bartender gave an update on his sobriety.

“I haven’t drank since — I believe it was April 4th or 5th,” he revealed, adding, “I didn’t really tell a lot of people during the process. I think that kind of helps. I also quit smoking cigarettes. I was kind of at the point where I was just chain-smoking cigarettes all day, every day.”

Tom admitted that even while trying to stay fit with workouts, he was still hitting the bottle. “If I wasn’t working out, I was drinking. If I wasn’t drinking, I was working out.”

Katy Perry

The “Firework” songstress revealed in March 2023 that she had been sober for five weeks following a “pact” with partner Orlando Bloom.

Bella Hadid

The supermodel celebrated being five months alcohol-free with her girlfriends in Las Vegas, sharing a video to her TikTok in which she’s happily dancing around in a casino in March 2023.

Cara Delevingne

The British supermodel opened up about her road to sobriety on the cover of Vogue in March 2023, revealing that she was four months sober. 
“At that point, there was a lot of people who were very worried, understandably so,” she said, referring to photos from September 2022 of her behaving erratically outside a Los Angeles airport. “But I wasn’t really worried, though … but that is the nature of the disease.”
Following the release of the disturbing images, the Paper Towns actress entered a 12-step program, saying, “I needed that support group.”
“All I knew is if I was continuing to go down the road I was, I would either end up dead or, like, doing something really, really stupid,” she continued. “It was always something I was very scared of, but I think I needed that community.”

Lucy Hale

“This is a post about self-love and about the greatest thing I’ve ever done. On January 2, 2023, I celebrated one year of sobriety,” the Pretty Little Liars alum wrote via Instagram nearly one month after the milestone on February 14, 2023. “While this journey has mostly been private, I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved.”

Drew Barrymore

The television host got candid about her sobriety journey after she resulted to drinking after her divorce from ex-husband Will Kopelman in 2016. Drew talked about the split with People for their December 2022 cover story, describing it as “crippingly difficult.”

“It was just trying to numb the pain and feel good – and alcohol totally did that for me,” she admitted. The former child star has been open about her past substance abuse during her adolescence, so she quickly saw the red flags with drinking.

“The drinking thing for me was a constant, like, ‘You cannot change. You are weak and incapable of doing what’s best for you. You keep thinking you will master this thing, and it’s getting the better of you,’ ” Drew continued.

After going to therapy, Drew quit drinking and focused on her kids, Olive and Frankie, and developing The Drew Barrymore Show which premiered in 2020. She revealed her new career path gave her “something to focus on” and “pour” herself into. “It gave us something to believe in.”

Jamie Campbell Bower

Jamie opened up via Twitter in July 2022 admitting that his addiction once landed him “in a hospital for mental health.”

“12 and a half years ago I was in active addiction. Hurting myself and those around me who I loved the most,” the Stranger Things wrote. “I am now 7 1/2 years clean and sober. I have made many mistakes in my life but each day is a chance to start again.”

Megan Fox

The Transformers actress said she tries to abstain from alcohol after becoming too intoxicated during the 2009 Golden Globes.

“Now I don’t drink, and this is why: I was belligerent and said a bunch of s–t I shouldn’t have said on the red carpet after that,” the actress explained to Who What Wear in 2021. “I’m sure I got in a lot of trouble for what I said … I don’t remember why but I know that I did.”

At the time, Megan said she was “painfully insecure” and joked about then-husband Brian Austin Green‘s “ego.”

Chrissy Teigen

The cookbook author did not go into detail about why she decided to become sober or when she decided to begin drinking agin. However, her sobriety came months after she and husband John Legend suffered a devastating miscarriage of baby No. 3.

Miley Cyrus

“It’s really hard because especially being young, there’s that stigma of ‘you’re no fun,’” Miley said about being sober. “It’s like, ‘Honey, you can call me a lot of things, but I know that I’m fun.’”

Jessica Simpson

The singer celebrated three years of sobriety in August 2020. 
“I was at that point in my life where my kids were growing older and they were watching every move that I made. I just really wanted clarity,” she said on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “I wanted to understand myself because I didn’t even realize how much I was drinking and how much I was suppressing. I thought it was making me brave, I thought it was making me confident, and it was actually the complete opposite, it was silencing me.”

Lala Kent

The Vanderpump Rules star quit drinking in 2018. “I felt like I was falling into a pattern. But I am actually, for real now, completely sober. I’ve never been happier. So, I know it’s something I’ll have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but it’s the right decision for me,” she told Cosmopolitan at the time.
She continued while reflecting on the tragic death of her father, Kent Burningham, the previous year, “Drinking for me was medication instead of celebration. Instead of going and talking to somebody about losing someone extremely important to you, we turn to things to medicate.”

Eminem

The rapper (real name Marshall Mathers) had a near-fatal overdose of the drug methadone in 2007. “Clean dozen, in the books! I’m not afraid,” he wrote via Instagram to celebrate 12 years of sobriety in April 2020.

Rob Lowe

The Parks and Rec actor received the Spirit of Sobriety award in 2015, marking 25 years of abstaining from alcohol. 
“Being in recovery has given me everything of value that I have in my life,” he said at the time. “Integrity, honesty, fearlessness, faith, a relationship with God, and most of all gratitude. It’s given me a beautiful family and an amazing career. I’m under no illusions where I would be without the gift of alcoholism and the chance to recover from it.”

Ben Affleck

The actor has a long history with addiction and first checked into rehab in 2001. “I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I’ve dealt with in the past and will continue to confront,” he wrote on Facebook in 2017 about going back to rehab. “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be.” 
His ex-wife Jennifer Garner took him to rehab again in August 2018.

Demi Lovato

The “Anyone” artist has battled addiction for years, including a near-fatal overdose in July 2018. In March 2019, Demi acknowledged the day that would’ve marked seven years of sobriety.
“I don’t regret going out because I needed to make those mistakes but I must never forget that’s exactly what they were: mistakes,” Demi wrote on her Instagram Story at the time. “Grateful that AA/NA never shuts the door on you no matter how many times you have to start your time over. I didn’t lose six years; I’ll always have that experience but now I just get to add to that time with a new journey and time count.”
Demi now practices “California sobriety” by still occasionally using alcohol and marijuana.

“I know I’m done with the stuff that’s going to kill me,” the “Confident” artist said in Dancing With the Devil, adding swearing off alcohol and marijuana entirely is “setting myself up for failure.”

Kristin Davis

The Sex and the City actress spoke about her recovery during an interview with Health in 2010. “I’m a recovering alcoholic,” she said at the time. “I’ve never hid it, but I’ve been sober the whole time I’ve been famous, so it wasn’t like I had to go to rehab publicly.”

Jada Pinkett Smith

The Girls Trip actress stopped drinking when she thought she developed a “problem” with alcohol at home.
“I found myself drinking two bottles of wine on the couch, and I said, ‘Jada, I think we’ve got a problem here,'” she told Contact Music. “From that day on, I went cold turkey.” 

Sia

The singer has been sober for over a decade. “I love you, keep going. You can do it,” she wrote to fans while celebrating eight years of being sober in 2018.



Naomi Campbell

“The time between 1998 and 2005 was especially bad,” the iconic supermodel previously told Vogue. “During that time I avoided looking in the mirror, because I didn’t like the person who was looking back at me. To be honest, there were times I thought I wouldn’t survive. I used to have a lot of problems. Amongst others I drank too much, so I joined Alcoholics Anonymous to get and stay sober.”

Tim McGraw

“When your wife tells you it’s gone too far, that’s a big wake-up call,” the country singer told Men’s Health about quitting drinking in 2008. “That and realizing you’re gonna lose everything you have. Not monetarily, not career-wise, but family-wise. I drank too much. I partied too much. And did other things too much.” 

Matthew Perry

The Friends actor has publicly battled addiction for years. “I had a big problem with alcohol and pills and I couldn’t stop,” he told People in 2013. “Eventually things got so bad that I couldn’t hide it, and then everybody knew.”

John Mayer

The “Gravity” artist quit drinking after having a six-day hangover following Drake’s 30th birthday party in 2016.
“I looked out the window and I went, ‘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,” he told Complex at the time. “‘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.’”

Zac Efron

The former Disney actor went to rehab in 2013 for alcohol addiction. “I was drinking a lot, way too much,” he told The Hollywood Reporter one year after entering recovery. “It’s never one specific thing. I mean, you’re in your 20s, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you.”

John Stamos

The Fuller House actor talked about his sobriety while presenting costar Jodie Sweetin with the Strength and Hope Award from Writers In Treatment Experience in 2019.
“It took me a long time, a long time disappointing everyone who cared about me, culminating in a terrible DUI where I could have killed somebody,” John said at the time. “I hit rock bottom. Jodie lovingly allowed me to walk my own path and when I finally humbled myself to ask for your help, I realized that the perky little blabbermouth had become the master of wisdom and was right by my side during some of the most difficult days of my life.”