Actress Lucy Hale opened a window into her ongoing journey with sobriety in a candid conversation with People magazine on September 12. The Pretty Little Liars star reflected on the perils of addiction, and her struggles to stay sober.
The actress told the magazine that she decided to quit drinking on January 2, 2022. She added that at the time, it was "the scariest choice," but now, she describes it as "the best gift."
Lucy Hale says she doesn't want to be "the poster child of sobriety"
Lucy Hale, set to receive the 2024 Humanitarian Award, told People that when she quit drinking, it wasn't because she wanted to become "the poster child of sobriety." She revealed that she just wanted to become better and to take her "power back."
She added that she felt "seen" by many who related to her struggles, and when she visited Friendly House LA, she felt immensely better.
“When women are together healing and growing, it's just .... it's palpable. It's just the best feeling to witness women blossoming and overcoming the impossible. If you had told 20-something Hale that she would be receiving an award and inspiring others with her sobriety, she probably wouldn’t believe you. I can't believe I'm at a place in my life where I can talk about the things that used to bring me so much shame."
She added that she had always come from a place of loneliness and feeling "misunderstood," and as a teenager, she found solace in alcohol, as it shut her brain off. While it initially worked for her, things soon turned "really dark" for the 35-year-old actor.
Lucy Hale also noted that her journey to becoming clean has been marked by several relapses and many years of struggle. She mentioned there were several dark moments where she fell on her face, literally and figuratively. But she picked herself up and decided to find the root cause of her problems, understanding that eliminating the vice was only one step.
“I always had a desire to change, but with any form of addiction, you become powerless to this obsession. “I definitely had to go through my own process of getting sober. It took many, many, many years, many relapses, many dark moments, many falling on my face quite literally, but figuratively as well to figure out what was working in my life, finding out why I was drinking, because removing alcohol is just one part of it.”
The Hating Game actress credited her career as her creative outlet for giving her purpose, saying that without it, she doesn't know if she "would have made it." She called it her "North Star." However, she noted that she was stuck in a loop of depression and anxiety, all while still showing up to work. This cycle paved the way for her excessive drinking.
Lucy Hale says quitting was "the scariest choice" she ever made, but was "the best gift"
According to Lucy Hale, she needed to hit "rock bottom" to realize that this was not the path she wanted to tread, telling People that she took a stand just after New Year's in 2022.
“I made the choice on the morning of January 2, 2022, that I was going to do everything I could to get sober,” she recalls to PEOPLE. “I knew if I continued on that path, I would've lost everything I cared about. It was the scariest choice in my life, but also it's been the best gift. When I made that change, everything else changed. My whole life has changed.”
Today, Lucy Hale still describes her journey as "painful and uncomfortable."
“I still have to make the choice every day like, ‘Okay, today I'm staying sober and today I'm choosing me,’ but that goes deeper than just not drinking. My life feels so good now that I wouldn't give that up for anything.”
While she is now in a more peaceful place, she is just trying to take it all in and enjoy each day as it comes. The actress divulged that she still has goals and wants to achieve more, but for now, she is focused on being present.
Lucy Hale continued, saying she is just trying to show up and be present, without "painting a pretty picture" of who she is expected to be. She added that while it has been a crazy journey so far, she’s "very grateful."
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Lucy Hale will be receiving the Humanitarian Award at the 34th annual awards luncheon, held at Friendly House, LA, an addiction recovery center. Warner Chappell and Zina Rodriguez will also be honored with the Visionary Award and Excellence in Service Award, respectively, that night.
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