Charlie Sheen said this week that he has been celibate for most of the past decade after achieving sobriety in 2017, telling the New York Post that abstaining from sexual relationships has been part of his recovery.
Asked to clarify what he meant by celibate, the 60-year-old actor said, "If I don’t have a girlfriend, and I’m not paying for it, then I think the math is pretty simple. The math is pretty simple." Sheen framed his celibacy as a break from earlier behavior rather than a permanent renunciation of intimacy, adding that he would "absolutely welcome some type of companionship" in the future.
Sheen has been public about the ways his past substance use and sexual behavior were intertwined. In interviews and in his memoir, "The Book of Sheen," he recounted losing his virginity at about 15 to a Las Vegas prostitute and said that episodes of heavy drug use coincided with sexual encounters with both women and men. On "Good Morning America," he described himself as essentially a sex addict; when host Michael Strahan referenced reports that he spent $53,000 on services from Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, Sheen replied, "That’s what they knew of."
Sheen has said his decision to seek treatment followed a family intervention led by his father, actor Martin Sheen, and that encouragement from figures such as director Clint Eastwood helped prompt him to enter rehab and pursue sobriety in 2017. He has spoken openly about how recovery has reshaped his priorities and daily life.
The actor's personal history includes three marriages: to Donna Peele in 1995, to Denise Richards from 2002 to 2006, and to Brooke Mueller from 2008 to 2011. In recent years Sheen has discussed both his struggles and his attempts to rebuild his life and public image through sobriety and reflection.
Other public figures have also described extended periods of celibacy or abstinence for personal, spiritual or recovery reasons. Musician Lenny Kravitz told The Guardian last year that he had not been in a serious relationship in nine years and described that choice as "a spiritual thing." Actress and producer Drew Barrymore wrote in 2022 that she had stayed celibate after her 2016 split from Will Kopelman to process the end of her family structure and to focus on her own needs. In 2019, Justin and Hailey Bieber told Vogue that they abstained from sex until marriage, with Justin saying he saw the decision as spiritual protection from emotional harm.
Sheen has linked his past sexual behavior to his prior substance abuse and has been candid about how both shaped his life and relationships. He described celibacy as a "needed break from those pursuits" and emphasized that his current stance is about honoring recovery and personal boundaries rather than closing the door on future relationships.
The actor's recent interviews and his memoir have continued to draw attention to the intersections of addiction, fame and personal accountability. As Sheen discusses his recovery publicly, he has framed celibacy as one component of a broader effort to rebuild and maintain sobriety after years of highly publicized struggles.