"I had taken things as far as I could take it. So I removed my drinking privileges."View Entire Post ›
Content warning: This post discusses alcohol misuse.
In a new interview with Esquire, Brad Pitt casually shared that he is drinking alcohol again after seven years of sobriety. The revelation has sparked a lot of online conversation, so why don't we get into some of the broader context of Brad's sobriety journey?
So, after starting a romantic relationship in 2004, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie tied the knot in August 2014. The couple — who share six children — had been married for just under two years when their seemingly sudden split made headlines in September 2016.
The FBI, which has jurisdiction in the air, also determined that further investigation was unnecessary, and the case was closed in November 2016. However, Angelina attempted to fight this ruling by filing an anonymous lawsuit against the FBI in 2022. In this lawsuit, she shared new details about the alleged incident, including that her then-husband, at one point, "poured beer on Jolie," and at another, "poured beer and red wine on the children."
As we said, Brad has vehemently denied the allegations. And while we don't know much else about what went on behind closed doors during this time, we do know that Brad decided to give up drinking shortly after Angelina filed for divorce.
"I had taken things as far as I could take it," Brad said in a 2019 interview with the New York Times, in which he said that the end of his marriage prompted him to join a 12-step program. "So I removed my drinking privileges," he added.
Marking six months of sobriety, Brad said in a GQ interview published in May 2017 that his relationship with alcohol had "become a problem." "Even this last year, you know — things I wasn't dealing with," he said. "I was boozing too much…And I'm really happy it's been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I've got my feelings in my fingertips again. I think that's part of the human challenge: You either deny them all of your life or you answer them and evolve."
Admitting that he couldn’t remember "a day" after leaving college when he "wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something," Brad opened up about feeling the urge to "renovate" himself. "You strip down to the foundation and break out the mortar…" he said. "For me, this period has really been about looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street."
So, nine and a half years have passed since then, and it sounds like Brad's lifestyle has changed.
The revelation about his return to drinking alcohol came midway through an interview with journalist Ryan D'Agostino for Esquire. While spending time at the actor's home in Los Angeles, Brad offered Ryan some wine. Given his public sobriety, Ryan asked if the wine was just for guests, which prompted Brad to reveal that he has started drinking alcohol again, but "not in big quantities."
"No, I got— I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon," he said, explaining that he drinks "in a more restrained manner" now. Brad didn't give exact details, but if he went sober in late 2016, the timeline would suggest that he started drinking again sometime in 2023.
Since breaking his sobriety, Brad said there were "a couple times" he "got overconfident," drank too much, and quickly realized that it was "not good" for him. "I can have a few [glasses of wine]. But I can’t have a lot," he explained. "I have to be professional about it."
Last year, in June, Brad opened up about his sobriety journey during a conversation on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard. For context, Dax is sober, too, and he and Brad actually met and became friends through Alcoholics Anonymous. In that interview, Brad talked about attending AA meetings shortly after his and Angelina's split, saying that he was struggling deeply at that time and was open to "anything" that might help.
"I was pretty much on my back…on my knees, and I was really open," he said. "I was trying anything and everyone. Anything anyone threw at me. It was a difficult time. I needed rebooting. I needed to wake the fuck up in some areas. And it just meant a lot to me."
Brad said that everyone at the AA meetings was "so open," which helped put him "at ease" with his own vulnerability. "It gives you permission in a way to go, 'OK, I’m gonna step out on this edge and see what happens,'" he said. "I just thought it was just incredible men sharing their experiences, their foibles, their missteps, their wants, their aches, and a lot of humor with it. I thought it was a really special experience."
The Oscar-winner has also credited fellow actor Bradley Cooper for helping him navigate his sobriety journey. In 2020, Bradley — who has been sober for over 20 years — presented Brad with the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2020 National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala. In his acceptance speech, Brad said, "Bradley just put his daughter to bed and rushed over here to do this. He’s a sweetheart. I got sober because of this guy, and every day has been happier ever since."
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
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