Drew Barrymore’s therapist quit after concerns over her post-divorce drinking

Celebrity News

By Nika Shakhnazarova

March 7, 2023 | 06:12

Drew Barrymore’s post-divorce drinking became so intense that even her therapist couldn’t handle it.

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times , the “Drew Barrymore Show” host said she found herself reaching for the bottle so often after breaking up with Will Kopelman that she sought professional help from therapist Barry Michels.

That is until he finally broke up with her.

“He just said, ‘I can’t do this anymore,'” she recalled. “It was really about my drinking. I said, ‘I get it. I’ve never respected you more. You can see I’m not getting any better. And I hope one day I can earn your trust back.'”

The actress said she started drinking after feeling she was failing to provide a united family for her two daughters Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8.

Barrymore, 48, began spiraling and some of her closest friends – including actress Cameron Diaz – called the situation “hard to watch”.

“But I knew that if we all stuck with her and gave her the support she needed, she would find her way,” Diaz told the paper. “I have full confidence in her. You can’t even imagine how hard it was to be her as a child, and then she shot out the other end with the ability to save herself.”

Barrymore was married to Kopelman from 2012 to 2016. The former couple are now co-parents to their two daughters.

The “50 First Dates” actress said that even though her friends and her therapist called her out on the excessive drinking, it wasn’t until 2019 that she was finally able to reel it in.

“I think the opportunity of a show like this really hit me,” she said, revealing that she decided to quit drinking after filming the first episode of her show. “I thought, ‘I can’t do this unless I’m in a really clear place’.”

Barrymore reconnected with Michels two years after he stopped working with her, resuming their professional relationship.

“You seem to be so inspired by everyone else, but you treat yourself like a…,” Barrymore said of herself. “When will you be enough for yourself?”

Barrymore admits she still struggles with “a lot of things” – including how and when to tell her children about her tumultuous history of alcohol and drug addiction – and remains hopeful for the future.

“I realized that just with me and my girls, I’m really happy,” she said. “I always thought I’d be on this hamster wheel for the rest of my life. But maybe something else will happen before the lights go out.”

Barrymore was also previously married to Tom Green from 2001 to 2002 and Jeremy Thomas from 1994 to 1995.