I realize we have two Chrissy Teigen posts today, but I have to give her props for knowing how to get attention good and bad. I really think she should cultivate an entourage of people, similar to how the Kardashians do it, to drum up more interest and generally have more stories to share. That might require stepping away from social media a bit and I doubt that she could establish the kind of work/life balance required to do that. She needs the press from being controversial, but in this case she’s being genuinely vulnerable, like the time she talked about her postpartum depression or maybe when she admitted that she cries over filtered photos of hot models on Instagram (the verdict is out on that one). Chrissy admitted to Cosmopolitan magazine that she’s been drinking too much, that she’s embarrassed how she acted in front of certain (presumably influential/famous people) and that she’s considering quitting. Here are two examples of Chrissy snapchatting drunk during awards season. And here’s what she told Cosmo:
She went to Bali to try to quit drinking
Before Italy, it was Bali, where they attended a wellness retreat. Teigen wanted to do a reset on her health. “I was, point blank, just drinking too much,” she said, looking down at the table between us. She picked up my phone and turned it around in her hands. “I got used to being in hair and makeup and having a glass of wine. Then that glass of wine would carry over into me having one before the awards show. And then a bunch at the awards show. And then I felt bad for making kind of an ass of myself to people that I really respected. And that feeling, there’s just nothing like that. You feel horrible. It’s not a good look for me, for John, for anybody.”[Bali] was “really, really wonderful,” she said. “I would wake up feeling amazing. My skin felt amazing. I was just so happy.”
“Imagine everything we have,” Teigen said. “Everything is there, always. I don’t know how to go to an awards show and not drink…”
She has a history of alcohol abuse in her family, she said, and she’s the type of person who “can’t just have one drink.” She is also taking a number of medications for postpartum depression and anxiety, which “alcohol is like the least thing that helps.”
No one told her she had a problem
“Nobody really brought it up to me,” Teigen said. “They just assumed that it was OK because I always felt OK the next morning. I knew in my heart it wasn’t right. It makes you very short with people. People think it’s cutesy and fun to go on these boozy brunches, but there’s more to it. I’ve never once been like, ‘I’m sure glad I had that boozy brunch!'”She might quit but she’s not sure
“I used to think it was kind of nutty to have to go totally sober, but now I get it. I don’t want to be that person. … I have to fix myself.”
I don’t know if I agree with AA’s policy of identifying as an alcoholic, but I drank too much, I drank every night and I worked so hard to moderate. For four months before I quit I used drinkaware.co.uk to drink less and monitor my drinking. I couldn’t stay under binge levels, particularly for women, for any length of time. It was honestly very hard and I ultimately had to quit entirely. Abstinence is the only thing that works for me, and I’ve been sober for about fourteen months now. My life is so much better, my relationships are better and I feel so healthy. It’s amazing waking up every day and being sober and I hope I’m not tempted to do it again. There are people who can drink a drink or two and stop, but that’s not me and Chrissy just admitted she can’t do that either. Good for her for taking this step and talking about it, whatever her motivation (moar headlines!) but I don’t think she’ll be free from this until she makes a commitment to cut out the booze entirely.
Also, Chrissy is going to try for another kid with John Legend now, she told Cosmo about that, and that will likely help her stay clean for a while. I’m sure we’ll be hearing all about that shortly. I also made the mistake of Google news searching her and HOLY SH- there are so many stories. She talks and tweets so much. I don’t know if we’ll cover any of those unless we’re desperate.
If you want to quit drinking I highly recommend SmartRecovery, it’s free and is based on rational emotive and cognitive behavioral therapy, and also AA is a great resource. There are always people who care and can help. I’m a secular person and I still benefited from AA.
If she is suffering from depression (post-partum or otherwise) she should not be drinking at all.
Well, yes in an ideal world. But obviously that’s easier said than done.
I’m amazed she continues to be so open, considering the backlash she gets for it. She posted some comments where people were just downright cruel about her drinking confession.
I don’t know why that’s really necessary. She’s clearly self-critical enough and willing to share her struggles which might get someone else to recognize themselves and get help too.
Thanks for posting that info about Smart Recovery and drinkaware, by the way.
Husband drank like that. He has one drink, he’ll have eight. It was horrible for me. A glass of wine would turn into him finishing the bottle, and then followed by shots. I wouldn’t call him an alcoholic. He didn’t need the drink. He could go forever without drinking. But he just couldn’t have one. He ended up following down our stairs one night and putting his head through the wall (ended up with neck problems for a year).
That didn’t get him to quit. What got him to quit was when our baby was just one month old, he had probably three or four drinks at our house, and then was called into work. His boss, after he completed the job two hours later, thanked him by POURING HIM SHOTS. He tried to drive home, crashed into a parked car, and totaled our (just recently payed off) car. A new car later, me threatening to take our baby and leave him, a DUI, and several thousand dollars in fees, got him to quit. He now realizes he cannot have just one. It’s been 11 months. He hasn’t had a drink since.
Really glad you and your husband are okay. Congrats on his sobriety, and I hope he continues down this path. *hugs*
Your story honestly makes me a little anxious, because my boyfriend is a bit like your husband, it sounds like. He’s only 25, so I can’t really tell if he’s still just in that earlyish 20s drinking phase, or if he truly can’t stop binge drinking. It’s seeming more like the latter. He’s a wonderful human, and he hasn’t harmed himself (aside from his liver) or anyone else, and he’s not a mean or violent drunk. But I worry about what it’s going to look like in the future, and I’m just not sure how to handle it. I can’t straight-up tell him I think he has a problem because he’ll get defensive, and I don’t even know if it’s my business to say something. I’m just not sure what to do.
Never ignore red flags. You will be married with kids ten years from now wishing you’d just listened to that nagging worry in your gut. You’re not stuck in a marriage or stuck worrying how you’d split custody with a drunk. How you’d afford two residences, two cars, manage dealing with EX in-laws. You can break up. Be sad and torn up, recover, and get into a new relationship with someone who doesn’t make you worry and wonder and dread.
They ALL have their good qualities, but damn it sucks hard to have to work so hard to see the good person under all the booze and pain and fear and dread. I hope so much for you that you just don’t get stuck. Peace.
“One is too many, a thousand is never enough.” – old AA saying
Good for your husband! It’s hard work. That’s exactly what an alcoholic is – when I was drinking, I’d have a nearly full drink in my hand, and I’d already be thinking about the next one. I didn’t learn that wasn’t normal until I was in treatment.
I see my former self in her comments. She has an alcohol problem. She also has a big mouth, so either this is her statement to publicly get better or she should have quiety sought treatment. I wish her the best, at the very least for her daughter’s sake.
Honestly, I like Chrissy, despite my criticism of her. I like an oversharer for the most part.
She needs to be smacked around sometimes for saying dumb stuff (complaining about her body is akin to complaining about her budget imo, valid but not worth my sympathy, the slut stuff is my bigger annoyance), but looking at the whole pile of stuff together, I’d guess she’s probably dealing with an untreated or under treated mental health issue and this makes me significantly more sympathetic.
I hope she’s able to work on this and get better. I find her pretty annoying and too much in general, but it takes guts to admit to an issue like this and withstand the public comment, and maybe it’ll help others too.
I’ve never personally experienced this, the concept of being unable to abstain or just have one drink is foreign to me, but I know it’s not for so many people. Hope anyone who needs help is able to find it.
I love that she’s so open about this challenge in her life. So many people deal with this struggle and still feel as if they cannot share it with anyone. Good on her.
I’ve always been vigilant about how much I drink, in fact I gained a reputation among my friends in college for being very strict with myself about how much I drink, even having friends questioning why I wouldn’t finish drinks when I decided to leave them aside. I abhor not being in control of my body–I’ve never blacked out or thrown up due to consuming too much alcohol, even in college where I probably drank the most. It doesn’t take much to get me tipsy, seriously one glass of wine and I’m buzzed which is why I tend to nurse one drink over several hours. I think it’s brave to recognize that you drink too much and if it’s something you need to cut out in order to live a healthy life, more power to you.
I think it’s important for women to be honest about addiction, honestly. Women drink at more or less the same rates as men, but we’re more likely to hide it within the home. Recalling the stigma surrounding PPD and female mental health in general, saying “this behavior is a sign you may need help, and that’s not a bad thing” is not a particularly terrible message all things considered.
Yeah, I used to be that woman who couldn’t just have one. My work and relationships suffered, but I always told myself I was fine because I’d never been arrested and that I never drove drunk. Then that changed too. Thankfully no one was hurt and no property was damaged, but I was appalled at what BAC I considered “slightly tipsy” and at how long it took all the alcohol to clear my system. I realized there were many days in a row where I was never completely sober, and that those blackout drunk nights at home probably involved scarily high levels of alcohol. I decided to quit drinking then, and everything in my life immediately improved.
I’m secular too, but I like AA. Nothing I’ve done is going to shock anyone there, do I can be honest…and I have to be, because people there are refreshingly good at seeing through my bullshit.
Chrissy bugs me sometimes, but I feel for her and am glad she’s being open about this. Sometimes it seems like we only see people just on the verge of hitting bottom and people who are post rehab and in recovery, not people who have problems but who can smooth them over to some degree. I hope Chrissy finds a solution that works for her, whatever that might be.
My problem is on the other axis: I can stop easily after one or two drinks, but I need those every evening. Sometimes I would go without for a couple of weeks or years inbetween, but sometimes I go for months needing a drink to be able to sleep. It shows in my weight and my face. Not happy about it but I have no idea how to stop it. I tried yoga, lots of teas, willpower.. nothing seems to work. It’s a curse and it runs in the family. My father has been like this ever since I was a child. He has a strict limit of beer per evening though and it hasnt changed in decades. Same reasons like me: cannot unwind without. He’s pulling this off without much of a problem (now aged 70). I am not. If anyone has a similar experience I would be happy to hear about it. Most people seem to have the problem with the not-being-able-to-stop.
@sojaschnitzel: I am the same, and oddly enough I’ve also connected it back to a similar habit my father (still) has! I can recommend the podcast “Editing Our Drinking and Our Lives” – I found the gals who host it very relatable in their own drinking habits/reasons for those habits, and also it sheds light on a kind of “purgatory” of alcoholism that (I think) Chrissy is touching on. You don’t get black out drunk or “act like an alcoholic” in the stereotypical ways we often associate with alcoholism; it’s more like something about your own drinking habits just doesn’t sit right with you…and that’s still a problem.
@shoochai: thank you lots! Yeah, that’s exactly it. Nobody is complaining about my evening beer but me.
Thank you for the links. I think one major benefit of Chrissy sharing her story and it being written about on here is this sharing of knowledge- and that’s a major plus in my book. I’m going to go look at the links you posted Celebitchy and help myself and hopefully others around me begin a path of recovery.
I’m really glad Chrissy overshares because she’s also shedding light on how these disorders tend to go hand-in-hand and probably require treatment as a whole.
Doc you can do this. It’s really hard to admit that’s the first step however you quit.
Thanks Celebitchy ☺️
I like Chrissy a whole lot and wish her the best. Being able to talk about it like that (with no bs) is already a huge step.
CB, I always appreciate it when you share your personal stories about sobriety. It’s something that a lot of women (including myself) have struggled with. Thank you.
Ditto.
I also really, really appreciate it.
She sounds like she has depression and I feel sorry for her. It doesn’t sound like she enjoys her life and with depression, she isn’t going to. It explains her attention seeking and desperation to connect to people. Hopefully, she isn’t too hard on herself or thinks she needs to figure it all out right away. Socializing to the degree they do makes it hard to stop drinking if it is a problem since it is everywhere and expected. Even if you don’t have a problem it is easy to get into situations where it is too much back to back drinking.
Luna is a dumpling.
To CB; Congratulations for getting sober and remaining sober for 14 months!
Recognition is a great first step, but make no mistake, sobriety is WORK. I have just passed the five-month mark after a year and a half of struggling and also coming to the realization that I can’t be a moderate drinker. Stopping your addiction isn’t a light switch you just turn off, and I wish Ms. Tiegen the best in her efforts, for herself and her family, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my own journey, it’s that if you don’t take care of yourself, you’re no good to anyone else.
She reminds me of Chucky.
I also am someone who, over time, couldn’t only have just one drink, and I started to become someone I didn’t like nor wanted to be when I drank, and so I drank more. I finally became exhausted of my lifetsyle, my life–feeling hungover, feeling bad about myself, feeling ashamed for the things I discovered I said or did the prior night during my blackout, hurting my family, friends, and coworkers. I was terrified and had a lot of ideas of how AA functioned, and what types of people went. I am currently sixteen days with no drinking, and the changes I have seen so far are small on the surface, but considering how dark my life was, they feel huge and incredible.
So yeah, thanks Chrissy and Celebitchy for sharing, because I know that other people’s shared experiences help me not feel so alone with my struggle.
And everyone out there struggling with any kind of addiction, you aren’t alone, and there are people out there (many who you have yet to meet) who love you. Never give up on yourself.
Congratulations, you can do it!
First. CB- I LOVE when you share your story. You are so gentle and non judgmental but at the same time extremely encouraging! I, one, would love to hear more.
DOC- you got this. Brave choice.
SOJA (big word)- your story is mine. To the T. But the fact that we recognize this, at least to me, makes it sound more of a problem. Or at least in my life. I watch moms around me drink like they’re in college. They don’t seem to worry about it?’ They laugh at the stupid stuff they do! I would be mortified. I’m never drunk, hardly tipsy, but you’d have to pry that glass outta my cold dead hands before I give
up the daily 2 drinks. I set deadlines all the time for myself, after summer, when school starts, after such and such holiday and I always fail. I too will look up the links as I’m already very familiar with AA as my husband is an alcoholic. I wish all of you wel wishes and good thoughts and good juju and all of it! We are women which means we are strong. But yes, it’s very cunning, baffling and powerful!
Chelsea K- you SHOULD be very proud of yourself! 16 days is a huge deal and every day forward! You deserve credit! Buy the 👠!!
Thank you Ash! 🙂
Ive been reading you faithfully for years and I am SO happy that you shared about getting sober. I feel like it is so hard for “social drinkers” to get help. It took me forever to address my drinking problem because I felt like I didn’t have to because I’d never gotten a DWI, drank in the morning, and was able to not drink during my job as a singer and guitarist in a band. I had a beautiful home and family too. BUT, I could NOT STOP. I had to drink every single night. EVERY NIGHT!!! HAD TO!!!! Many, many times drinking to blackouts and remorse and hangovers. I got sober five years ago and I have never been so happy. Sure, life still sucks sometimes and it’s not easy to not drink over your feelings, but I am free from living with regret and guilt and hangovers. I think she’s on her way there. Once you realize and admit that you can’t drink like a normal person, it’s tough to fool yourself. Congratulations to you!!!
Most likely non-existent drinking problem = attention
People give a break to drinking and carbs as detox all the time. What a mess. I really dislike this woman and moreover what she represents. And I am certain she lies about her age. For someone who came clean about all of the procedures she is getting, her face looks much much older than her supposed 31 years.
I am sure her brave ‘candor’ was too about grabbing headlines b/c let’s face it; she is doing NOTHING of worth that people can recognize or acknowledge.
This woman is simply too needy. Sharing is one thing, but over sharing is tiring. She shares for publicity, not for wanting to “help those with alcohol problems to encourage talking about it”. You don’t need so much to talk about it, you need to act on it and fight it. Yes alcoholism is real and is very ugly for families and loved ones but with the kind of life she has been blessed with, it’s a bit of an insult running around whining about the “problems” she has. I can’t understand people who are “inspired” by what she regularly throws out, sorry.?You are a mother, you have a child and if you can’t get sober for your child then sorry, you don’t inspire anybody. The world doesn’t revolve around your problems, so get over it.
Honestly, this is a pretty simple equation. If you think you drink too much, you probably do. Im a therapist and I have noticed thats how it begins with literally ALL my substance abuse clients.