Drew Barrymore: ‘I kind of knew life was heading in a new direction’

Popsugar’s Anna Monette Roberts did an interview with Drew Barrymore at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival, where she was promoting the new rosé addition to her Barrymore Wines. The journalist is a real fan of Drew’s and it comes through in their rapport. She’s read Drew’s book and quotes it to her, and it seems to be meaningful for both of them. Everything is a little deeper to these ladies because a) Drew is drinking wine and sounds at least slightly buzzed when she gives the interview and b) Drew just announced her separation and Anna is trying to get some decent quotes while being respectful of the situation. Drew of course obliges and it sounds like they had a nice, wine-swilling afternoon.

On wearing striped socks with sandal heels
The thing is, the sock and the shoe have to be in love, and they’re not always in love. Sometimes it’s square peg, round hole

On her natural brows
I don’t feel like tweezing right now. I need to go back to my ’80s roots. The time right now is natural. Natural base color. Natural brows. Natural face. Not being on the treadmill of fear of aging. It is what it is. And I’m wanting to bring the anklet back.

On her quote about her daughter in Wildflower “you need my strength, not my worry”
That’s how my daughter is. She doesn’t want the worry. She needs to know it’s going to be OK. It’s the only way she will allow herself to be vulnerable… She’s mad when something hurts her. She doesn’t go to a weak place. Every little girl can only be made to feel safe if they know the parent is solid.

Q: You’ve taken on so many big, scary things, and yet, you’ve come away more powerful and stronger than ever. What is the secret to that? What does it take?
I had a really hard time a couple of months ago and kind of knew life was heading in a new direction. I called someone that I really trust, respect, and believe in, because he has always been the conductor of grace. I said, ‘What’s your advice?’ And he said, ‘You put one foot in front of the other.’ I hung up the phone and I thought, ‘That is why I call this person.’It’s not only succinct, but it’s almost physically productive and life-choice productive. It’s just great advice. It’s a kind of way in which to live, and I want to be like him. I want to be like that. I want to put one foot in front of the other.

On how she’d like to be remembered
The only thing I care about, my life’s mission and the only thing that matters as of now is that my daughters know what our lives were like, how we lived, and how much I love them. For them to know that they were not just loved, but, like, ridiculously, utterly, life-alteringly loved. That’s the only reason I’m here now!

[From PopSugar]

It was a good piece. Drew’s secret to dealing with tough situation seems to be to walk, though. Doesn’t it sound like that? “You put one foot in front of the other.” No shade on that, it’s just with everything we’ve heard about her impending divorce, it sounds like it was her decision, like she didn’t feel like it was working and she decided to take action. She did the wife and mother role and she ultimately wasn’t comfortable with the “wife” part for whatever reason. For some women it’s easier to be alone and do you own thing.

People has a new insider quote about Drew’s divorce. They say that she was embraced by Will’s parents, had a close relationship with his mom and sister and that “Drew seemed very happy about being a big part of Will’s family. It was like, for the first time, she had a real family.”

Drew Instagrammed the photo below thanking PopSugar’s Roberts for her article. She wrote that it “goes above a discussion about wine and becomes something truly thoughtful.” It’s still not going to get me to drink rosé.

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69 Responses to “Drew Barrymore: ‘I kind of knew life was heading in a new direction’”

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  1. Erinn says:

    I just kind of feel sad for her, more than anything else. I find the more she talks about it all, the less confident and strong she sounds, and the more broken.

    Will seems like a good guy though, hopefully they’ll be able to co-parent well. The only thing that worries me is that Drew DOES seem flighty. It can be super difficult on kids. Hopefully she’ll be able to be a dependable mother who doesn’t balk when things aren’t going smoothly – otherwise the teen years are going to be hell on everyone.

    • Liv says:

      I do too. I have a feeling that they separated because she can’t live that way or with anyone at all because of her childhood.

    • Jess says:

      Or maybe she put the kids before the marriage, people who have really bad childhoods often go overboard to compensate leaving no room for their partners or sometimes even their own needs.

    • Tammy says:

      I empathize with Drew because relationships get very hard if you had a difficult and traumatic childhood, It’s hard to connect with another person and hard to main that relationship. It’s far easier to be a parent, than a spouse. When she became a mother, I think she put all her focus into making her sure her daughters were given everything she wasn’t and there was nothing left over for her husband. I’d think there is something wrong if Drew wasn’t flighty because you don’t go through trauma like that and come out like a rock of stability.

  2. BendyWindy says:

    Hopefully she’ll remain close with her in laws. I told my husband before we married that once he was family he would always be family, no matter what, so he needed to be sure. Even if we divorced, my mom will expect to hear from him a few times a year and see him, too. Thankfully they love each other and we haven’t divorced.

    • Anon says:

      Same. My family is very close to my husband. The only time it makes it hard is that his family is the total opposite, and don’t want anything to do with me. The inbalance can cause some tension, but I’m glad he is close to my family!

    • KOri says:

      I always joke with my hubby that my Mom (my father is passed) would keep him not me in the case of a divorce. She adores him. He was very close to my father as well. I get along well with my in-laws but not the close level he has with mine. But we’ve been together 25 years, if anything did happen, I can’t see either of us being shut out of each other’s families–that’s just too much time spent as a family unit.

  3. bammer says:

    I guess I’m the only one curious about her drinking. Wasn’t she in rehab?

    • Jaded says:

      She was in rehab at age 14 because her mother, a notorious party girl, would drag her into bars, Studio 54, let her smoke and drink with all the adults who thought it was cute. Then she started smoking pot and snorting cocaine and ended up in rehab, then an extended stay in hospital to treat a number of mental/emotional issues – a consequence of being forced into an adult world too soon. She’s able to drink socially and I doubt she’s going to instantly rebound into addiction because she enjoys a glass of wine.

      • L says:

        Then you must not have known an addict. Addicts and alcoholics can slip back into their terrible ways after just one hit or sip. That’s why it’s so scary.

      • Jaded says:

        @L – oh I do know addicts. My older sister was an alcoholic and she died as a result. Rule #1 here – never assume things.

        Drew was 8 years old when her mother started dragging her out to clubs. She was the “entertainment” for the grown-ups so they started giving her drinks, cigs, pot, coke, you name it. She willingly took it to fit in. She didn’t go out by herself and seek out addictive behaviour, it was thrust upon her. After rehab at age of 14 she managed to carve out a creditable career in acting, running her own businesses and, yes, a winery. If she’d fallen back on her addictive behaviours she wouldn’t have been able to do all this plus become a mother.

      • L says:

        I’m so sorry to hear that. I have a brother who is an alcoholic, and we’ve had many rough times with him. But thank God, he’s been sober for 16 + years.

    • Magnoliarose says:

      Decades ago. She may be able to handle it now and I believe it was always more about drugs.

    • Bridget says:

      When she was 14 Rehab was the ONLY choice. As a minor in the age of Just Say No, complete sobriety and admission that she was an addict were the absolute only choices, especially since Drew had a career to save. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t identify as an addict.

      • KOri says:

        I think rehab was the only choice because she was a 14 year old doing hard drugs with a parent who didn’t care and who, in fact, indulged it. Rehab gave her the structure and tools to quit. But she smoked pot later and drinks wine–I don’t think she’s ever labeled herself an addict so much as she just needed rehab to break the cycle she was in at the time. There really was no other recourse for a minor in her circumstances.

    • Sarah says:

      She’s a grown up – she can decide for herself if she’s safe to drink.

  4. missmerry says:

    I think it’s so truly fascinating the decisions this woman makes, and in the public eye no less, that I see as stemming from her childhood.

    Just because you’re a new member of a doting, loving family, doesn’t mean you’re going to want it forever, or be comfortable with it forever.

    It seems like she is still truly, in personality, affected by the way she grew up, but on top of that, she recognizes it and accepts it, rather than suffering in a partnership or family she doesn’t want to (or can’t) be a part of.

    She’s a strong example of being shaped by your past, but she doesn’t seem cynical or lonely, just…different than a lot of other people.

  5. missmerry says:

    also, who do you think she called?
    Spielberg?

    • hoopjumper says:

      That was my guess! Hmmm…

    • Rhiley says:

      Or maybe David Crosby. He kind of adopted her when she was teen. He was her sober coach or whatever they are called.

    • Christin says:

      I thought of him, but also thought of Sandler (I know, I know).

      My soft spot for Drew always seem to have a sudden reality check moment.

    • HappyMom says:

      That’s my guess.

    • Tammy says:

      My guess is David Crosby. She credits him for helping her turn her life around.

    • Ryan says:

      My first and only guess is actually Tom Green. I thought I remembered reading that the two maintain a deep friendship.

  6. Jayna says:

    I read they separated at the end of last year. Maybe November I read. I kind of believe it looking back on her interviews, the way she danced around her marriage in interviews and the quotes she gave.

    • Rhiley says:

      Yeah, I think they have been separated for a while, but with Jen and Ben, Gwen and Gavin, Blake and Miranda dominating last years papers, they decided to wait to announce.

  7. Birdix says:

    with that gushing endorsement of pop sugar, it sounds like she was waiting for bad press.

    This putting one foot in front of the other is interesting: “It’s a kind of way in which to live, and I want to be like him. I want to be like that. I want to put one foot in front of the other.” Most of us take it as a given that you have to live that way, especially when you have commitments to people, jobs, etc, so you can’t just spiral out of control or skip out, you just have to plod through. It’s so different when your life plays by different rules.

  8. Rhiley says:

    My feelings, and I may be wrong, is that Drew gets bored easily. She is a creative person, and when she isn’t feeling creative, there is a need to shake things up, move on and try something different. I think she got bored with Will so she needed to move on. The thing, though, is that relationships, even very good relationships, have moments that are extremely dry and stagnate. However, if you can stick them out, work through them, there are incredible rewards. Not everyone is geared to grow old with someone else, sure, but if you are lucky enough to change and grow with your partner, there is something extremely rewarding about building a successful relationship that only gets stronger year after year.

    • Christin says:

      When a relationship seems to become routine, some want to give up. With her track record of three dissolved marriages by age 40/41, hopefully she will do some true reflection this time before getting on another path that bores her.

      I just hope the children really are a priority to both parents.

      • Crumpet says:

        I think you both are absolutely right. Plus she was raised to think that relationships are throw-away commodities. Look at her parents and her up-bringing. And now she is passing that on to her daughter. So sad.

      • Bridget says:

        I agree. If you look at Drew’s relationship history, 5 years (or thereabouts) tends to be her max. She’s all in until she isn’t.

  9. GingerCrunch says:

    I don’t know…Summer’s coming! A nice rosé out on the deck sounds pretty delicious!

    • INeedANap says:

      I love rose wine and my local packie carries a few that aren’t sweet at all, a little dry and hefty. I buy them in cases when they come back around in the spring.

      I hope Drew can center her life around her daughter and herself. She will have to overcome a lot of her upbringing, it’s tough.

    • Magnoliarose says:

      There are very nice rose wines available that taste great. There is one I like made from Pinot grapes. People associate it with the sweet nasty stuff from the 70s and 80s but they have been good for awhile. I like it with light but spicy food.

      • coconut says:

        @Celebitchy: The roses on the market now are not the white zin favored by grandmothers in the 80s and 90s! This winter, I barely popped a bottle of red, stuck with my crisp roses and whites!

    • Carol says:

      I didn’t like Rosé for a long time either. But there are some pretty good Rosé wines out there now that taste nothing like the traditional Rosé of the past. I find that the ones from France, the Loire Valley, and Spain are traditionally dry, less sweet, and taste more like white wine. The Rosé wines from California tend to be sweeter.

      • GingerCrunch says:

        Mmmm, yep. Was in Vegas recently and treated myself to my first Rosé of the year and it was from the Loire. Fantastic! And I’m a Pinot Gris girl. 😏

  10. Ramona Q. says:

    Do you see how far drawn outside the lines her lipstick is in all of those photos?! Wow!

  11. Canadian Becks says:

    Any speculation about the man she called for advice?
    I wonder if it was Spielberg? He is her godfather and has been married now for decades.

  12. als says:

    I like her and if she gets her way, she’ll bring back some interesting styles.

    She always struck me as vulnerable and sensitive but with the business that she’s running and now making this huge decision, she just seems extremely determined to live life on her terms.

    A divorce is hard but is not the end of everything, people need to feel happy, she seems content with this development.

  13. lisa says:

    the part about the ugly shoe in love with the ugly sock just sounds drunk

    im not completely comfortable buying wine from an addict

    • L says:

      I agree, and is it helping her image to be shilling wine days after she announces her divorce? Hmmmmm…

  14. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I think one of the reasons I made the poor decision to marry my first husband was that I was also in love with his family. That’s dangerous.

    • WTW says:

      I don’t like my husband’s family at all for the most part but married him anyway. It causes tension, but we’re still together after five years of marriage and 8 years of being a couple.

  15. nina says:

    I never say this but Drew should go back to the bleached blond hair color….preferably in a bob and with dark eyebrows, maybe not as thin as they were in the 90s but still. And ditch the tan.
    IMO she looked her best when she had the bleached white-ish blond bob, dark thin eyebrows and pale skin but since she’s older she could modify it a bit.

    • WTW says:

      @nina I’ve been thinking the exact, same thing! When she was younger, she normally didn’t wear her hair this long (though I do remember her with long, permed hair for a moment in her teens), and I don’t think it’s her best look. She definitely looks better with a bob and lighter hair. She always looks somewhat unkempt to me now. Maybe a lob would help.

      • KOri says:

        I thought she was her prettiest/cutest in the age of Never Been Kissed. Her hair was a softer blonde, cute bob with curls.

  16. Magnoliarose says:

    I don’t think she knows how to exist in a marriage and probably needs to rethInk doing it. It’s not for everyone.

  17. MAC says:

    She is an alcoholic & drug addict. I feel it’s irresponsible to do those behaviors and have a marriage let alone children in that kind of environment.
    Thank you to the people who posted it on yesterday’s post.

    H

  18. Tris says:

    I find her, and always have found her, utterly loveable.

    • MarcelMarcel says:

      So do I! I’ve adored her since I was little (child of the nineties) and even read her book Little Girl Lost. I haven’t had the chance to read Wildflower but I can’t wait to. I think she’s charming and she comes across as authentic. She’s probably my major celebrity crush.

  19. lizzie says:

    i think the narrative around this is interesting. all of the quotes are about drew’s unstable childhood and the blame is on her side. what about this though? what if she really wanted to make it work with this guy and he (and his well heeled family) lorded it over her that he was her only stability and his family was aspirational but they are really just jerks? what if she was constantly reminded she should just appreciate everything b/c she comes from a broken home. I am getting less of a “drew was bored” tingle from this. I’m getting more of a “she thought he was authentic and realized he was a douche and it wasn’t worth it” situation.

    • Esmom says:

      Interesting perspective. I”ve also though the narrative around this has felt off, that she’s not necessarily the one who flaked out on this. I’m also not as sure as other people who think she’s incapable of maturing and evolving, that she forced herself into someone she wasn’t when she got married.

      I said in another thread, people give Angelina credit for growing up (and she’s also had multiple marriages and an atypical Hollywood upbringing), why not Drew, even if she her marriage is breaking up?

    • Tammy says:

      Interesting perspective.. I did not think of that until you just posted it LIzzie. It’s entirely possible that he portrayed himself to be something he wasn’t and they did seem to get married really quickly. And because she did have an unstable childhood, I doubt she’d be willing to spend another moment with someone who possibly threatened the stability she achieved as an adult. So, now I am thinking you’re on to something here because it does seem a bit off that Drew is so flighty, she’s a free spirit narrative that she can’t be in a relationship for too long.

    • Wren says:

      Or maybe not quite as dramatic as that, but perhaps she always felt her “outsider-ness” and it became too much to bear. Not having a lot in common and coming from vastly different upbringings can put a lot of strain on a relationship.

    • Malificent says:

      That was my idle speculation on the last posting. Do we really know very much about her husband, except that he comes from a wealthy and apparently cohesive family? It’s possible that he’s less stable than he appears,or maybe he’s completely inflexible and Drew’s need for more freedom is not purely the result of her unstable childhood. The whole point of this site is speculation, so I don’t have a problem with it, but I feel like there’s probably a whole lot of dynamic that we don’t know about in the couple.

      • mp says:

        I read an interview with Kopelman in Architectural Digest and he sounds like, not kidding, male GOOP. I remember thinking, “How is he married to Drew Barrymore?” He sounds really uptight about design, being a tastemaker, clothes.

        Divorce doesn’t have to have a party at fault!!! Sometimes people just don’t work together and that’s ok.

  20. felixswan2 says:

    @LIZZIE, yeah me too.

  21. J.Mo says:

    I firmly believe and witness “alcoholics” who are cured and don’t have to abstain because the substance doesn’t serve its original purpose anymore. They simply are not addicts in the typical sense like Drew who misused when she was a child with no other comforts or over-riding purpose. There’s a great 5 minute video on YouTube called Rat Park about addiction being a necessary choice in some cases.

  22. BRE says:

    There seems to be a lot of support and concern for Drew on the board and I do agree with some of what is said but I have to wonder, if Drew was a man would the comments still be the same?

    • Goldie says:

      Considering the fact that nobody really knows what happened in her marriage, I think Drew has actually been getting a lot of criticism. Even people who are sympathetic towards her still seem to place the majority of the blame on her. I don’t think she’s getting a free pass by any means. That said, people may be sympathetic because she generally comes across as likable; her screwed up childhood is well documented; she hasn’t been caught cheating or doing anything “wrong”. She’s getting a divorce just like millions of others are.

  23. tamiam says:

    ^^^
    “Every little girl can only be made to feel safe if they know the parent is solid.”

    That statement – it guts me because it is so true. Emphatically.

  24. theresapage says:

    It’s not brain surgery, people. She was knocked up. Got married. The guy looks EXACTLY like her… so her children will look EXACTLY like her. He’s from an incredibly wealthy New York family. Kids will be taken care of forever. They will have what she did not. THE END. MOVE ON.

  25. Jayna says:

    This made me sad. Will Kopelman talks to Oprah about falling in love with Drew.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gALg1gPGM

  26. A couple years ago there was a story about one of their homes in Architectural Digest. I remember thinking it felt so differently decorated than you’d imagine her home to be like. It was so much more traditional than I’d have ever guessed for her free-spirited self. Looking back now, I think that could say a lot about their marriage. Not that she’s incapable of commitment necessarily, but perhaps his views were a lot more traditional than hers.