Celebrity sobriety stories often make headlines when someone announces that they have stopped drinking or using drugs. What receives less attention is that recovery does not always follow a straight line.
Actors, musicians, television personalities and other public figures have described substance use, periods of sobriety, relapse and returning to recovery. Their experiences differ, but they can help illustrate an important reality: getting sober and maintaining recovery are not always the same challenge.
Noah Centineo, known for The Fosters and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, has publicly discussed substance use, destructive patterns and his evolving relationship with sobriety.
Noah Centineo has discussed experimenting with substances when he was younger and eventually recognizing destructive patterns developing in his life.
In a 2026 interview, Centineo described reaching what he viewed as a crossroads and believing that continuing on the same path could make his situation substantially worse.
He had previously discussed becoming sober in his early twenties and later acknowledged that his relationship with sobriety changed over time.
One of the most important themes in his public account is the role of family, community and access to support when someone recognizes that substance use or emotional wellbeing is moving in an unhealthy direction.
Celebrity recovery stories sometimes create an unrealistic picture in which someone reaches a turning point, enters treatment and never struggles again.
Public accounts show a more complicated reality. Some people maintain continuous sobriety for decades. Others return to alcohol or drugs and later reconnect with recovery support.
Karamo Brown, known for Queer Eye, has publicly discussed returning to alcohol and drugs after approximately 12 years of sobriety.
His story challenges the assumption that reaching a certain number of sober years permanently eliminates relapse risk.
Tom Holland has discussed reconsidering his relationship with alcohol after initially stopping drinking as part of Dry January.
What began as a temporary challenge eventually led him to examine how alcohol had become connected to his routine and how he felt without it.
Lucy Hale, known for Pretty Little Liars, has spoken publicly about her relationship with alcohol and her decision to pursue sobriety.
Her story provides a contrast to highly publicized relapse stories because it demonstrates how recovery can become a sustained part of everyday life.
Jamie Lee Curtis has spoken publicly for years about addiction and long-term recovery.
Her experience illustrates another side of celebrity addiction stories: substance use can be part of someone’s history without controlling the rest of life.
Celebrity stories cannot predict what will happen in another person’s recovery. Addiction, treatment and relapse are highly individual.
Fame, money, professional success and access to resources do not make someone immune to substance use disorders.
A person can remain sober for years and still encounter grief, trauma, relationship problems, depression, anxiety or major stress.
Family, friends, therapists, treatment providers and recovery communities can help someone recognize when recovery is becoming less stable.
A plan that worked during one stage of recovery may later need renewed therapy, psychiatric support, medication or more structure.
There is rarely one explanation. Celebrity life may involve unusual pressures, but many underlying relapse risks are the same ones experienced outside the public eye.
Demanding schedules, public scrutiny, career uncertainty and major life changes can increase emotional strain.
Depression, anxiety, trauma, grief or loneliness may increase vulnerability when substances were previously used to cope.
Someone can be surrounded by people and still feel emotionally isolated or disconnected from meaningful support.
Social environments, travel, events or peer groups may make substances readily available.
Therapy, meetings, healthy routines and other forms of support may gradually become less consistent.
Someone may begin believing that enough time has passed for alcohol or drug use to be controlled safely.
A return to substance use may appear sudden from the outside. Internally, changes may have been developing for days, weeks or months.
Someone may become increasingly anxious, depressed, angry, exhausted or isolated even without consciously planning to use alcohol or drugs.
Past substance use may begin to seem more attractive while painful consequences become easier to minimize or forget.
Physical relapse refers to returning to alcohol or drug use. Immediate safety risks depend on the substance, dose and individual circumstances.
With opioids in particular, reduced tolerance after abstinence may increase overdose risk if someone returns to a previously tolerated amount.
Many public figures who discuss addiction also describe depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, loneliness or other emotional challenges.
This overlap matters because alcohol and drugs may have been used to temporarily escape difficult emotions. When substance use stops, the underlying mental health concern may still remain.
Yes. Karamo Brown’s public account provides a particularly clear example.
Brown has described maintaining sobriety for approximately 12 years before returning to alcohol and drugs during a difficult period in his life.
His experience challenges the assumption that someone becomes permanently protected from relapse after reaching a certain number of sober years.
Long-term recovery can reduce many of the problems associated with active addiction, but people still experience stress, grief, trauma, relationship problems and mental health symptoms.
No. Seeing a celebrity return to alcohol or drugs sometimes leads people to assume treatment did not work. That oversimplifies long-term recovery.
Someone receiving lower-intensity support may temporarily benefit from a more structured level of care.
Trauma, grief, relationship problems or recurring triggers may require another therapeutic approach.
Depression, anxiety, PTSD or another co-occurring condition may need additional psychiatric or therapeutic support.
Medication may be an important component of treatment for certain substance use disorders when clinically appropriate.
High-profile overdose stories have highlighted one of the most serious realities of returning to substance use: tolerance can change during abstinence.
This is especially important with opioids. A person may no longer tolerate the amount they previously used.
The illicit drug supply can also be unpredictable. Fentanyl and other potent synthetic substances may appear in counterfeit pills or other drugs without the person realizing what they are taking.
Celebrity news often focuses heavily on the relapse itself. Clinically, what happens afterward may be more important.
Treatment may explore what substance was used, what happened beforehand and how quickly support was re-engaged.
Withdrawal, overdose risk, intoxication and other medical concerns may need to be assessed.
Depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, grief or other emotional concerns may have changed before the return to use.
The level of care, therapy approach, recovery support or living environment may need to change.
Not everyone who returns to substance use requires residential treatment. For medically stable individuals, structured outpatient treatment may provide additional accountability and clinical support.
PHP may provide substantial daytime structure through therapy, psychiatric support, relapse-prevention work and recovery education.
IOP may provide structured treatment several days each week while allowing appropriate clients to continue responsibilities outside treatment.
It can be tempting to compare one celebrity’s experience with another. One person may stop drinking without residential care. Another may attend treatment multiple times. Someone else may maintain decades of continuous sobriety.
Those differences do not necessarily mean one person wanted recovery more than another.
Substance use disorders vary in severity. People have different medical histories, mental health concerns, family support, living environments, substances of use and previous treatment experiences.
Celebrity addiction stories can start important conversations, but similar struggles occur every day in families throughout Tennessee.
Tulip Hill Recovery provides addiction and dual diagnosis treatment in Murfreesboro for individuals working to establish or strengthen long-term recovery.
Treatment can help clients identify triggers, understand patterns surrounding substance use, improve emotional regulation, develop healthier coping strategies and create a practical relapse-prevention plan.
If someone has recently returned to alcohol or drugs, an individualized assessment can help determine whether outpatient treatment, more intensive support or another level of care may be appropriate.
This article uses publicly reported celebrity experiences to discuss addiction, relapse and recovery. A celebrity’s personal experience should not be interpreted as medical guidance or as representative of every person with a substance use disorder.
Entertainment Weekly: Karamo Brown Discusses Relapse After Long-Term Sobriety →
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View Clinical Reviewer Profile →Celebrity status itself does not cause addiction. Public figures may experience unusual pressures, including intense scrutiny, demanding schedules, isolation and easy access to substances, but substance use disorders can affect people from every background.
Public figures who have spoken about substance use or recovery include Noah Centineo, Karamo Brown, Tom Holland, Lucy Hale, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eminem, Elton John, Robert Downey Jr., Dax Shepard and others. Their experiences differ considerably.
Yes. Long periods of sobriety can be extremely meaningful, but they do not make someone completely immune to future substance use. Major stress, mental health symptoms, isolation and reduced recovery support may increase vulnerability.
No. A recurrence of substance use may indicate that the recovery plan needs to be reassessed. Someone may benefit from renewed therapy, another level of care, psychiatric support, medication or changes to their recovery environment.
No. Many people maintain long-term recovery without returning to substance use. Relapse is a risk, not a requirement.
Stress, cravings, trauma, depression, anxiety, social environments, isolation, loss of structure and changes in recovery routines can increase vulnerability. Wanting sobriety does not automatically eliminate these factors.
No. Skills, insight and recovery experience developed during previous sobriety are not erased. Treatment can focus on understanding what happened and strengthening the next stage of recovery.
Opioid tolerance can decrease during abstinence. Returning to an amount previously tolerated may therefore increase overdose risk. Fentanyl in the illicit drug supply may add additional danger.
Yes. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma and other mental health concerns may increase vulnerability for some people, particularly when substances were previously used as a coping mechanism.
Contacting a treatment provider, therapist, physician or trusted recovery support can allow safety concerns and treatment needs to be reassessed. The appropriate response depends on the substance, withdrawal risk, overdose risk, mental health and overall stability.
Yes, when clinically appropriate. Intensive outpatient treatment may provide therapy, accountability, relapse-prevention work and recovery support while allowing medically stable clients to remain outside residential care.
No. Celebrity recovery stories may be informative, but treatment should be based on an individualized clinical assessment rather than another person’s experience.
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