Drew Barrymore became emotional on her talk show while recounting her struggles with sobriety, particularly focusing on the year 2022, when she stopped drinking alcohol.
During a segment where she reunited with a flight attendant who had offered comfort during a flight that year, Barrymore shared the difficulties of her sobriety journey. "When I met you, you were crying in my galley," the flight attendant recalled. "And we sat in my galley, and you cried and cried because you were going through so much...you were just bawling, and I just was holding you."
Barrymore confirmed that 2022 was a particularly challenging year for her. "Yeah, that was a really, really hard year. It was actually the year I stopped drinking," she said. "You know, when you stop drinking, it's not like all your problems go away - there's a ton of work to be done."
The Daytime Emmy-winning host explained to the flight attendant and her studio audience that alcohol had been a significant problem in her life. "I knew, for me, that was my number one problem in life - and it could be different for everyone. But just mine happened to be drinking," Barrymore stated. "Alcohol was a poison for me. And I turned to it because I didn't want to feel. I felt better when I drank, so I would turn to it."
Barrymore, who famously began drinking alcohol at age nine, smoking marijuana at age 10, and using cocaine by age 12, has a long history of substance use. Her past struggles led to her being placed in an institution for 18 months at age 13. She described the experience: "I just got so out of control that no one knew what to do with me." She recounted being driven to the institution in the middle of the night, stating, "when you go through those two doors, you do not come out." She added, "I was there for a year and a half. And I hated it. I kicked. I screamed. One minute, you're at movie premieres and clubbing, and the next minute you're in a full blown institution with barbed wire everywhere, and you can't get out."
Barrymore was legally emancipated at age 14. She later reconciled with her mother, Jaid Barrymore, in 2014. In 2021, she revisited the institution, now called Healthy Living, for an emotional segment on her talk show.
The star has quit drinking multiple times throughout her life, including at ages 13, 14, 43, and 47.
Barrymore's syndicated talk show, "The Drew Barrymore Show," was renewed for its seventh and eighth seasons through 2028. She is also nominated for outstanding daytime talk series at the 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards, airing October 30.