Reflecting on her “incredibly self-destructive” path to sobriety, Lucy Hale broke down in tears.
On Thursday’s episode of the “Diary of a CEO” podcast, the “Pretty Little Liars” alum started crying right away and told presenter Steven Bartlett that she cries “all the time” talking about her career.
The 33-year-old actress said, “I just adore where I arrived in my life and it’s been a really powerful and painful, insightful, joyful, horrible journey.”
As she clarified that she has had “a issue” ever since she first tried alcohol at the age of 14, Hale said that she has been “working on getting sober since [she] was 20.”
In addition to “quieting [her] thoughts,” which was “exhausting,” drinking also made Hale feel like her “real” self, which she now knows to be “bulls-t.”
She admitted, “I was a classic binge drinker. “Blackout. I wouldn’t be able to recall my actions or my words.
Hale “tried to change” for her boyfriends, her mother, her job, and other “vain reasons,” but on January 2, 2022, the decision would only be permanent if she truly “wanted to get sober.”
I declared, “I deserve more from this existence. She remembered her lowest point coming after “dozens” of “emotional rock bottoms… at the depths of hell,” saying, “I have to try it a different way.
The “Life Sentence” alum praised her for “always pulling” herself out of difficult situations and “sling-shott[ing]” herself in a different direction.
Prior to her open interview, Hale shocked her Instagram followers by sharing the news that, after a “private” journey, she had just marked her first year of sobriety on Jan. 2.
The performer captioned a picture of her cake on Valentine’s Day with, “This is a post about self-love and about the best thing I’ve ever done.”
I felt compelled to tell anyone struggling tonight that they are not alone and that they are cherished.
Troian Bellisario, who is a member of the A-list, praised Hale in the comments section, labeling her “brave, cool, and inspirational.”
In a 2017 conversation with Byrdie, the “Hating Game” star opened up in public for the first time about giving up alcohol.
She said at the time, “I’m just always striving to surround myself with better people and be the best version of myself possible.
On Thursday, Hale spoke about recovering from an eating disorder. She said that for many years, food was “all [she] thought about from the minute [she] woke up until” bedtime.
I despised myself so much that I was unable to provide for my basic requirements, like food. She expressed how sad that was. “I had zero or very little self-worth.
“You get addicted… to that hamster wheel in your head,” she continued, adding that she no longer “looks back and shame[s] herself” for not having the “tools” to recover. “I knew that my hair shouldn’t be falling out, I knew I shouldn’t be seeing every bone in my body, but you get addicted… to that hamster wheel in your head.”
»Lucy Hale cries reveals how exhausting it was for her to achieve sobriety«