Kelly Osbourne recently opened up on her Instagram stories about the fact that she relapsed after four years of sobriety. She said that she’d always promised to be honest about her recovery and that “I relapsed, I’m not proud of it, but I’m back on track.” In a new interview with Extra, Kelly opened up more about her reasoning for that, saying she thought she could drink again because everything was going well for her. She’s promoting a new podcast she has coming out with her boyfriend.
Kelly said, “I don’t know why my nervous breakdown happened at the end of the lockdown, I made it all the way through, everything was great and my life was perfect. I’m that girl that when everything is going great I need to f*** it up a little and make everything a little bit worse in my life. I am an addict and had thought that I had a enough time under my belt and I could drink like a normal person, and it turns out I cannot and I will never be normal. I don’t know why I even tried it. It’s not for me and it took me a matter of days and I was like done, not doing this.”
Osbourne said she doesn’t feel like she went back to square one. “This is something I am going to battle for the rest of my life. It’s never going to be easy. Through being accountable and owning your own journey and sharing what you can go though you can help other people. That’s why I came clean, I could have sat here and nobody would know.”
As for what triggered it, Kelly said, “I got all of my career goals happening… and then I got happy cause I got this incredible boyfriend and everything in my life is so great and I’m like I’m not an addict anymore… On top of that pandemic fever… It all just got too much….
Kelly also recently losing 90 lbs., saying, “Okay, so that’s the whole thing. Everyone was so, like, caught up in how, how I look. They never asked me how I felt. And the truth is I was so f–king happy and I felt amazing.” Adding, “I did it for me. I did it because I wanted to live. What I saw in the mirror… I wanted the body to match the mind, because I, I spent so much time working on my mind and then I spent a year working on my body and now it’s about the soul… did the mind, the body, now the soul.”
In about three months I’ll have five years of sobriety. I had two years sober in my early 30s and it took way too long for me get back to that. While some people can go back to drinking “normally,” I absolutely know that I cannot, because I tried that over and over again for so many years. There’s no upside to me having a drink and I know this.
Kelly Osbourne is a jerk and I do not like her at all, but she deserves some credit for being honest about this, and about her thought process. There will always be an excuse to drink, and Kelly’s, that everything was going well, is common. The other, that the pandemic has been incredibly hard on us, is another. All of those make some sense, but when you’re an alcoholic or an addict going back to your drug of choice is the absolute worst decision. I got help with Smart Recovery, their worksheets helped give me the motivation I needed to change. The book Stop Drinking Now was really helpful too. AA helped me stay sober early in recovery and while I don’t follow their program I still go to (online) meetings when I need a reminder. I don’t want to take my misery back. Good for Kelly for figuring it out and being open about it.
photos credit: Backgrid and via Instagram
I just feel like she’s using sobriety or non-sobriety as an attention seeking tool.
YES. Same with Demi Lovato. Just show your work.
Agreed. Please don’t give this family any more oxygen. CB, I’d much rather read about your sobriety journey than this person’s.
That’s my impression too, but i am biased, as I can’t stand either.
Seems that she and her mother go to the same plastic surgeon. They already have the same personalities and ways of deflecting, so it makes sense. Inside and out, she’s the Mini Me of Sharon.
Bless her heart.
(And all the above aside: Good for her for becoming and doing her utmost to remain sober. THAT is an accomplishment for sure.)
And having lost weight she looks sooo like her mother now!
They are both very unlikeable.
I’m glad she gave voice to drinking because everything is fine. It’s SO common and I think something only addicts understand to a certain degree. It’s so important to normalize addiction and recovery- thanks for covering it the way you do.
I just celebrated 7 years last week. It’s not always easy but it’s always worth it.
Hooray for 5 years! That’s INCREDIBLE!! Five years felt like SUCH
a milestone- enjoy it, you earned it and Congrats to you!!
I’ve been listening to some Hunter Biden interviews recently, and he talks about the availability and danger of alcohol. It’s such a slippery slope for addicts to be around something so socially acceptable that we’ve been conditioned to consume for any and all occasions.
Congratulations! I also celebrated 7 years in January. I too, cannot drink like a normal person, no matter how much I’d like to.
Congratulations! I also celebrated 7 years in January. I too, cannot drink like a normal person, no matter how much I’d like to.
I am not an expert and i hope i wont offend anyone. But i dont believe that someone who has been sober for a long time should they choose to have a drink on their birthday or a glass of champagne on NYE should be relagated to Day 1 of sobriety. Those years and time still count,and out of 365 days if you had one drink i dont feel like it needs to be called a relapse.
I’m not an alcoholic, but they’ve been in my family, and I married one. There are variations of alcoholics. My husband is the worst kind. Take one sip, he’ll never stop. He’s a monster when drunk saying horrendous things. Then the mean drunks get to pass out leaving everyone in their destructive wake. It’s called a relapse because for many alcoholics, they know through many years of debilitating consequences, that one sip is a destroyer. It’s a destroyer of jobs and employment security. It’s a destroyer of marriages, families, friendships…. It should never be looked at lightly or diminished in any way. Not for alcoholism. One drink can kill someone.
Yeah, that sounds like my dad (who admittedly is not in recovery and never has been). I will fully acknowledge that I can’t speak for every addict or alcoholic, but my experiences with him have never, ever shown me that an alcoholic can just drink “sometimes”. He’s always had excuses—he’ll just have this one drink, it’s red wine so it’s healthy, it’s a celebration, etc.
Being an addict/alcoholic messes with your head. You’ll do anything to rationalize your actions. I’ve not seen any indication from my own experience (which is admittedly anecdotal) that alcoholics can handle drinking sometimes.
I wish Kelly the best of luck. Good on her for acknowledging the relapse and taking the steps to address it.
My husband is nearing three years of sobriety. All I can do is be thankful for today. I’m taking my days the way he has to, not looking at tomorrow or next month. Just today, and thankful for a good yesterday.
Mabs, I know some of what you went through and it’s very hard. I’m sure you’re proud of your husband, and proud of yourself for being strong through this! Best wishes for his continued recovery. You’re right, one day at a time.
Thanks Candy. You’re right. It’s the hardest thing in the world for everyone involved.
She did not have “a drink for her birthday or glass of champagne for NYE”. If you read her post, she states “I had thought that I had a enough time under my belt and I could drink like a normal person, and it turns out I cannot”. In other words, she thought she could have, say, a drink with a nice meal, and ended up going off the rails very quickly. That is why it’s called a relapse. If she would just have a glass of champagne for NYE once a year, she would not be an addict.
I dated an alcoholic. He was that way. Because he could go weeks without a drink he felt he could control himself when he drank. It’s just their way of justifying their want to indulge in their addiction. Or to justify why they fell off the wagon. The addiction is so strong your mind will look for any way to feed it.
It’s foolish to believe after all her therapy she truly thought this addiction was a symptom of things going wrong in her life. That as things went right the alcoholism wouldn’t be a problem.
I hope she recovers and knows alcohol is a “No” for her. Outside of that I hope she fades away with her mother as they are both awful in many ways and shouldn’t have platforms to push their white victim hood.
It’s not foolish, it’s addiction.
The thing about being an addict, at least for me, is it’s always Day 1. You’re not relegated, but you are always confronted with the possibility of relapse. That’s what the battle is all about imo. As the famous saying goes “the world record for sobriety is 24 hours.”
Many studies suggest that relapse is actually a part of recovery. The first few years of my sobriety were filled with relapse. But they were still a part of my sobriety process, and I was proud for each intermittent period that I could achieve. Sobriety starts with at least some partial awareness of cutting back, even if you’re unable to commit fully. But then one day you finally arrive at the foregone conclusion.
I wish her well in this matter.
Thanks for sharing your story, Celebitchy.
She looks just like her mother in that last pic or maybe it’s that smug look that is giving me that vibe.
I recently had two months sober and it’s the longest period of time I’ve been able to cobble together with several years of effort. Ive since not been sober but am working back to it. Absolutely no shade at all for someone talking about this journey.
I wish you luck, The lady, I really do. Same for you, CB. I think what you’re doing takes unbelievable strength, a strength most for whatever reason, just can’t summon.
@ the Lady
I also have had some stints of sober recently- for me it’s been 45 days then a slow build back to drinking too much over 2 months time
Then 45 days again
Then too much
Of course I didn’t drink when pregnant but my kids are 5 and 9 now…
I now understand the addiction and my romanticism of drinking-
I had my first drink at 13 but truly alcohol was a family affair, while being a secret, it was also omnipresent. It was my best friend even though it was actually a frenemy
I look at my life and marvel that so much was wasted time being wasted
I wish sobriety for all who seek it. And truly believe I am on the right path to it
But I am in awe of anyone with a year, two years, 5 years!!! I just…I am just in awe.
I know I just need to be real about the fact that’s it’s a poison for me. It’s NOT my bestie. And it has NEVER helped me. In fact it has destroyed many wonderful opportunities in my life anc I’m lucky to have gotten to where I am.
Alcohol has great PR but truth is, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
“Alcohol has great PR but truth is, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
THIS ALL DAY!!!!! The lies we’ve been sold and so many of us bought into, UGH.
“Alcohol has great PR but truth is, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” THIRD!
Since I gave up alcohol (I’m an addict), I am so much healthier. On my good days, I absolutely don’t miss it and see virtually zero benefits. I have read so much since then about alcohol’s connection to cancer and other diseases. I think it is MUCH worse for your health than people realize, much like smoking was in the past.
Best of luck. It is an uphill journey for sure. You’re fighting the good fight!
I think she said she had weight loss surgery? It is very common for people after weight loss surgery to end up with a new (or old) addiction. Basically, when they lose the use of food to deal with feelings, that addictive behavior is still there and gets transferred to something else. There have been a lot of weight loss surgery success stories that ended up addicted to shopping, gambling, etc. Even if she didn’t have surgery, I could see this playing out the same.
Yes, most addicts have more than one addiction. Be it food, porn, pot, gambling. It’s a terrible disease.
Stop giving a known racist a platform.
CB, congratulations on your upcoming 5 years!
No matter what kind of person she is, I wish her well. I recently lost a dear friend to alcohol – he literally drank himself to death. He must have had the constitution of some kind rugged land mammal because he drank enormous quantities every day and was still able to function. He was always a cheerful drunk, but refused to listen to anybody, even when his doctor told him he was killing himself. Little by little his neurological system started giving out, numbness, balance, cognition, until he died in a nursing home thinking Russian spies were after him. I’m still so angry with him – he was so bright and talented and there was nothing I could do to help. I hope Kelly can overcome this.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My dad was the same and passed away last summer, bedridden, with dementia and the inability to speak, and losing toes due to his diabetes. It’s a slow moving tragedy for everyone, including the addict.
I wish her the best because, while I don’t like her, I don’t wish her dead.
My husband just celebrated 20 years sober. I didn’t know him when he was drinking, but he said I would have hated him. For him, he has said, one drink is one too many and one is never enough.
Congrats CB! Thanks for being so open with your readers. I’ve drawn a lot of strength from your journey over the years. The pandemic was especially hard, and I think many addicts struggled through it. I know I did!
Thank you for covering and talking about this. I too don’t like her much but give her big credit for talking about it and owning it (even if it is just self-serving). And thank you, very much, for including the tools you relied on. I’m currently not in the best place and seeing this here in a space I read regularly, from a writer I follow, is more helpful than you might know.
She seems like one of those celebrities who use plastic surgery as replacement for therapy.
I’m in recovery as well and it’s kind of shocking how many people are. Three cheers to all of us!
This isn’t totally relevant but I’m pretty sure the shot of her next to the car is from the Roosevelt Hotel parking lot.
I used to like her but I think she became a loudmouth, spoiled brat. I love Ozzy and Jack but they can have Sharon and Kelly.