Since Drew Barrymore‘s split from her ex-husband Will Kopelman in 2016, she’s been on a true career renaissance. With her beauty line Flower Beauty and her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, she’s been taking control and owning Hollywood now more than ever. But while that might be the impression from the outside, her journey to get here was quite a long one.
Speaking to Us Weekly, Barrymore talked about her healing journey after the divorce. According to her, it all started after stepping away from alcohol.
“I had to stop,” she told the outlet. “I just don’t drink. That is poison for me. And when I stopped, there was so much work to do. For me, it was like, if I get rid of this, the real work can start.”
Barrymore has been candid about her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction in the past. In her memoir, Wildflower, Barrymore talked about starting to drink at just nine years old, becoming dependent on alcohol by 11, and becoming a drug addict at 12.
So, when she decided to get sober after the divorce, something shifted. She was finally able to chase her dreams.
“I was so excited and grateful that I had something to try and build,” she said of her show. “What a wonderful, intentional distraction and possibility that was. It was just such a wild time.”
Coming up with the show was also a conscious decision to give herself purpose beyond her daughters Olive, 12, and Frankie, 10. “I knew that if I made it all about my kids, that was dangerous,” she said. “I needed to find my resources of stability and strength. I had them professionally and for my friends, but I didn’t have them for myself.”
Looking back, she knows she needed to hit rock bottom after her divorce to bounce right back. “Where I found myself was a place where I’ve never been so upset. I’ve never been that down on myself,” she said. “And it was a real wake-up call that this is no way to live.”
“Things happen. You can get through them. Please do not be so lost and mean to yourself that you don’t know your way up,” she continued. “The revelation in the early 40s was not about alcohol or divorce. It was like, it’s f— game time to get my s– together and be the most solid person I can be.”
As for her life now, Barrymore is accomplished professionally and personally – even without a partner by her side. “I never feel like something’s missing,” she said of finding romance. “I was so capable of having fun and experiencing joy, but I don’t know if I was happy. There’s such a big difference, and now I’m actually happy. This decade has truly helped me find ways into choosing happiness, and I have to choose it every day over and over again.” We’re so happy for you, Drew!
Before you go, click here to learn more about celebrities who’ve opened up about dating after divorce.
Leave a Comment