Cameron Diaz has opened up about Drew Barrymore’s battle with alcohol and her journey to sobriety in a new interview.
Diaz, 50, who has been best friends with Barrymore, 48, since the ’90s, said it was difficult to watch her friend descend into depression and alcohol following her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman.
Friends then staged a “quasi-intervention” to help the actress fight her demons, which were also fueled when she moved from her “permanent” Los Angeles to New York.
In a profile for Barrymore, The Mask actress told the LA Times, “But I knew that if we all stuck with her and gave her the support she needed, she would find her way.
“I have full confidence in her. You can’t imagine how hard it was to be her as a child, and then she came out the other side with the ability to save herself.”
Friends: Cameron Diaz emotionally opens up about Drew Barrymore’s battle with alcohol and her journey to sobriety in new interview
The Charlie’s Angels star shared that she was in such a destructive spiral that her therapist, Barry Michels, stopped her.
“He just said: ‘I can’t do this anymore’,” she revealed. “It was actually about my drinking. I said, “I see. I never respected you anymore. You can see I’m no better. And I hope that one day I can win your trust back.”
The ET star, who shares daughters Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8, with her ex, started drinking heavily when their marriage fell apart.
The 50 First Dates actress was married to Kopelman from 2012 to 2016.
She numbed the pain a few years after the divorce. When she launched her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, in 2019, she had an epiphany.
“I think the opportunity on a show like this really touched me,” she said. “I was like, ‘I can’t handle this unless I’m in a very clear place.’
The Santa Clarita Diet alum put down the bottle after filming her talk show pilot. And two years after her therapist left her, she contacted him again and they started working together again.
She realized that the only person she didn’t support was herself.
Happier times: Diaz, 50, who has been best friends with Barrymore, 48, since the 90s, said it was ‘hard to watch’ her friend spiral into depression and alcohol following her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman (pictured 2014)
Worlds Away: Drew has walked this road before. At 13, she entered rehab for drug and alcohol abuse
“You seem so inspired by everyone, but you treat yourself like S… When will you be enough with yourself,” she said.
Drew has walked this road before. At 13, she entered rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.
At the age of 14, she attempted suicide and went back to rehab.
When a tabloid picked her, she decided to write her story in the 1990 memoir Little Girl Lost.
“Drew Barrymore makes it every day,” reads the book cover. “She knows other kids can do it too.”
Drew was emancipated from her parents at the age of 15 and moved into her own apartment in West Hollywood.
In December, Barrymore revealed that giving up alcohol allowed her to “finally be free from the torture of guilt” as she opened up about her sobriety.
The star discussed her sobriety in an essay published in Take Care of Yourself, the December issue of her monthly magazine, titled Drew.
The award-winning actress wrote about her breakup with alcohol, calling it “one of the most liberating things in my life’s journey.”
In her monthly magazine, Drew encouraged readers to put themselves first when she said, “One of the bravest things you can do is slay those dragons and finally change a horrible cycle in which… You sit fast.’ For me, it was giving up drinking.’
Drew went on to admit that quitting alcohol allowed her to “finally break free from the torture of guilt and dysfunction.”
In a message to readers, she continued: “Take a moment, take a deep breath and push. We’re all just doing our best here. And that in itself is something to celebrate.”
Legendary: Drew found fame in ET The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 at the age of seven
The veteran actress, who rose to fame at the age of 6 for her portrayal of Gertie in the 1982 film ET, battled alcohol and drug addiction in her youth.
In 1989, the then 14-year-old Barrymore told People magazine how she had her first drink at nine, smoked weed at ten and started using cocaine at twelve. By the age of thirteen, she had undergone drug addiction treatment twice.
At the age of 12, she was briefly blacklisted by Hollywood.
Not one to shy away from her past addictions, Drew told CBS This Morning in December 2021 that “alcohol didn’t serve her.”
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Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
