Drew Barrymore
Actress got back into alcohol after divorce
Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz (right) have been close friends for more than 20 years.
© VALERIE MACON / AFP
Drew Barrymore returned to alcohol after her divorce. For her close friend Cameron Diaz, this fight is “hard to watch.”
After divorcing her ex-husband Will Kopelman (44) in 2016, Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore (48) went through a difficult time. Among other things, she became addicted to alcohol again over a longer period of time. Barrymore is now talking about her problems in an extensive interview with the “Los Angeles Times” and doesn’t mince words. Her longtime friend Cameron Diaz (50) also has her say in it.
The situation had gotten so bad that her long-time psychoanalyst had to break off his therapy. “He just said, ‘I can’t do this anymore,'” Barrymore says. The main reason was her drinking habits. She herself was able to understand his decision and respected it. The therapy just didn’t work and she didn’t feel any better. Nevertheless, she very much hopes that her psychologist will be able to trust her again one day. Two things helped her out of her misery: her friends and her own talk show “The Drew Barrymore” show, which she has hosted since 2019.
“I think the chance to do a show like this really grabbed me,” Barrymore said. At first she thought she couldn’t handle it until she was “clear”. However, this turned out to be a misconception. Her longtime friend and colleague Diaz was also close by her side. Barrymore and Diaz met in a coffee shop when they were teenagers and have been close friends ever since.
Cameron Diaz: Drew Barrymore’s battle with alcohol ‘hard to watch’
For Diaz, Barrymore’s fight against alcohol was “difficult to watch”. Nevertheless, she has great faith in her friend to overcome her problems. “I knew that if we all stick by her and give her the support she needs, she would find her way,” explains Diaz. “I have absolute faith in her.” One cannot imagine how difficult it was for Barrymore as a child. She developed the ability to save herself.
Barrymore became a worldwide child star thanks to her role in the Spielberg classic ET: The Extra-Terrestrial. As she later reported in her autobiography “Little Girl Lost”, the success also had a downside: she started drinking alcohol at the age of nine. A little later, different drugs were added, including cocaine. After a suicide attempt and several hospital stays, however, Barrymore was considered clean from the mid-1990s.
Help with depression, suicidal thoughts or alcohol problems is available from the telephone counseling service on the free number: 0800/111 0 111