In the early 2000s, Natasha Lyonne struggled with addiction. In interviews, she’s talked about abusing alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. Natasha got sober in 2006 after attending a court-appointed rehab and made a career comeback with Orange is the New Black, (my personal favorite) Russian Doll, and Poker Face. In a 2022 profile in The New Yorker, Natasha revealed that she hadn’t used drugs since then. On Friday night, however, Natasha announced in a short Tweet that she had relapsed and would share more soon. Several hours later, she opened up a bit more, explaining that “recovery is a lifelong process” and urged anyone else who was struggling to “keep going.”
Natasha Lyonne has announced that she relapsed after years of sobriety.
“Took my relapse public. More to come,” the Russian Doll actress wrote on X on Friday night. In a follow-up post, she said, “It’s all kinds of fun.”
Lyonne reflected further on relapsing in an additional post. “Recovery is a lifelong process. Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone,” she wrote. “Grateful for love & smart feet. Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets. If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone, we will see how our experience may help another. Keep going, kiddos. Don’t quit before the miracle. Wallpaper your mind with love. Rest is all noise & baloney.”
Later, in a response to a commenter, Lyonne wrote, “May become a pothead or a nun. TBD.”
The Poker Face star also said society needs to improve its approach to combating addiction. “We need better systems and to end shame — bill the sacklers & stilettos or something but don’t @ me for getting honest,” she said.
I’ve rooted for Natasha for almost three decades, and I’m rooting for her now. I’m glad she decided to seek help. It must have been difficult for her to publicly admit her relapse, but because she said that we’re only “as sick as our secrets”, this must be her own way of holding herself accountable to getting sober again. I also admire the courage and conviction that it took to post that because it can be really scary to ask for help to stop using.
Natasha obviously doesn’t owe us any explanations or details about what happened, but I appreciate her openness. Sobriety is not easy; she’s right that for many people, it is a lifelong process. I think Natasha said it best in her own words, ”Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone.” I know that in these very difficult times that we are living through, it’s easy to convince ourselves that things are hopeless and that it doesn’t matter. It does. We have so many commenters who have shared their stories of sobriety. If you’re struggling, you are not alone. You can get help at a local or online AA, NA or Smart Recovery meeting. If you are trying to stop drinking, I also recommend this subreddit.
Took my relapse public more to come
— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) January 24, 2026
Recovery is a lifelong process. Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone. Grateful for love & smart feet. Gonna do it for baby Bambo. 🎥❤️🥊 Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets. If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone,…
— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) January 24, 2026
Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
I wish her well!!
Same!
EVERYONE should watch the TED Talk “Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong.” One of its central ideas is that the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety — it’s connection. And that’s why it actually matters when public figures are willing to talk honestly about their struggles. For people who already feel isolated, ashamed, or alone, that kind of openness can be profoundly powerful. No one should ever feel pressured to make their recovery public — but for those who are strong enough to do it, truly: thank you. It means more than you probably know.
She’s speaking in AA. Something about relapse: in AA, we will always, always, welcome you back if you relapse. My first year of trying to get sober was full of relapse. Thankfully, I started to take that program seriously, let go of trying to control everything outside of myself and started to get better. Going on 2 years sober now and grateful that I get to work on my sobriety every day instead of suffering from that terrible disease and hurting my loved ones. But yeah, when I kept slipping, the other folks in AA told me to just keep coming back. I’m so glad they did.
The only requirement for membership is the DESIRE to stop drinking. That word “desire” saved my life and so many others. 6+ years and I still remind myself that all I have is a daily reprieve.
Congrats to you, S!
Congrats to you too on 6 years, Meghan!
Yes. Those words and their message are my mantra for sobriety.
The nice man i live with celebrated 41 years of sobriety yesterday. Was sober long before i knew him. And he said my gift was too much.
But i disagree. If he wasn’t sober, our life together would collapse, and it means the world to me.
I signed his card from the dogs and the cat. They are grateful he is sober too. He takes excellent care of all of us.
Reaching out to get help is scary.
All the credit to Ms. Lyonne for doing that, and being public, which may help others.
It is easy to take sobriety for granted when someone has been sober more than a decade, but we should remember that not everybody wins the battle with addiction. And it really is a battle that is fought every single day.
I fking love Natasha and her work. No judgment, nothing but love. You could tell she was using when she went on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang. Amy is close to her, she co-produced Russian Doll. The interview was bonkers, it reminded me of how John Mulaney was on Seth Meyers right before his intervention (he talked about the Brit royals). Natasha was talking about space and quantum mechanics and it wasn’t factual. Amy was really supportive, reminded her of her critical successes and said “I just love talking to you.” Rooting for her!
I wish her well, this sounds very challenging.
I finally started watching Elementary (loving it) and I was chatting to my friend about it and she said her dad also really enjoyed it and as a recovering addict himself said it was that aspect which he particularly appreciated.
We definitely need more openness on these topics and props to anyone who feels comfortable doing that.
It’s tough to hear. When i see her in interviews or filmed at events she always strikes me as a person that is struggling to keep it together, and her coping mechanism is to perform this kind of jaunty and tough-as-nails broad act. I hope she can take some time out of the spotlight to work on herself and find peace.