Culture March 7, 2023

Drew Barrymore says her therapist fired her before she stopped drinking

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Drew Barrymore described how she turned to alcohol after her marriage to art consultant Will Kopelman fell apart, in a recently published wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The actress-turned-eponymous talk show host, who has battled addiction in the past, said that before she decided to quit drinking for good in 2019, her therapist quit on her.

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"He just said, 'I can't do this anymore,'" Barrymore said of her counselor, celebrity therapist Barry Michels. "It was really about my drinking. I said, 'I get it. I've never respected you more. You see I'm not getting better. And I hope, one day, that I can earn your trust back.'"

Barrymore said during that dark time her celebrity friends supported her. Her longtime friend and Charlie's Angels co-star Cameron Diaz called this period "difficult to watch." She added, "But I knew that if we all stuck with her and gave her the support she needed, she would find her way. I have absolute faith in her."

MORE: Drew Barrymore details intense struggles with emotions and weight while in quarantine

Barrymore's positive talk-show, "The Drew Barrymore Show," convinced the star to turn things around.

"I think the opportunity at a show like this really hit me," Barrymore said during the interview. "I was like, 'I can’t handle this unless I'm in a really clear place.'"

After a rough start in the fall of 2020, the show was retooled and rebounded in the ratings, and it has been renewed for a fourth season. Her therapist also took her back, she said.

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Despite starring in hit movies like "Never Been Kissed" and "50 First Dates," Barrymore said that she's stepping back from acting -- for now: "I hate when people are like, 'I'm retiring' ... I don’t want it to come off that way."

In addition to hosting the show, Barrymore said that being a mom to her daughters with Kopelman -- Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8 -- is "the role of my life."