Lucy Hale is opening up like never before.
The 33-year-old Pretty Little Liars star appeared on the latest episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast on Thursday (February 23), where she got very real about her struggle with alcohol throughout the years and getting sober.
Speaking very candidly, Lucy said:
“I have never talked publicly about being sober – I have a little over a year of sobriety. I have been working on getting sober since I was 20; I’m 33. It took time. It took patience with myself.”
She said about binge drinking:
“I just held on to that belief that the real Lucy came out when she was drinking. It also quieted my mind… my brain just doesn’t shut off and it’s exhausting. I was a textbook binge drinker, blackout, wouldn’t remember what I did or what I said, which is scary.”
Lucy, who admitted she has had issues with alcohol since she was 14, went on to say:
“I was willing to go to this crazy dark place every time. Of course I tried to be a moderate drinker, just having two. I have an allergy to alcohol. I cannot drink. I view it as an allergy; my brain doesn’t work the same way as someone who can just have a glass of wine. It always wants more. It’s craving that feeling.
I tried to change for boyfriends, I tried to change for my mom, I tried to change for my career, I tried to change for vain reasons – ‘I’ll look younger and look skinnier. I’ll stop drinking for that.’ One of my best friends died of alcoholism and that still didn’t make me want to get sober. None of that s— works. Alcohol isn’t the problem. The problem is this feeling inside of me.”
Lucy revealed that she made the choice to get sober on January 2, 2022, and said the decision came down to the fact that she “deserves more out of this life.” She said that her sobriety journey is now “freeing” and feels “peaceful.”
