Chrissy Teigen has said she is drinking again after years of sobriety on a new episode of her podcast, Self-Conscious With Chrissy Teigen.
Newsweek has contacted Teigen’s representative for comment via email.
The Context
Over the years, Teigen has been open about her sobriety journey after quitting alcohol in 2021.
In July 2022, she celebrated one year of sobriety in an Instagram post, writing, “Not a drop of alcohol in 365 days! I miss feeling loopy and carefree sometimes, but to be honest toward the end, it didn’t give that fun feeling anymore anyhow. I drank to end crazy anxiety that later mostly went away when I—get this—quit drinking! sigh. anyhow I feel really good.”
Last year, she launched Self-Conscious With Chrissy Teigen, a podcast that “explores the cutting edge of personal development with some of the world’s leading experts and thinkers,” according to the show’s description on Audible.
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for It’s Good
What To Know
During Thursday’s episode of the podcast, Teigen spoke with Holly Whitaker, the bestselling author of Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed With Alcohol.
“I do feel like I do owe it to people,” Teigen said. “I will have a glass of wine at a restaurant, and I’ll look around, and I’ll see people. In my mind, they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s drinking again.'”
She added that when she goes to restaurants, she’s offered a mocktail list. “I look at them, and I say, ‘Oh no, I’m drinking again,’ and it’s like a gut-punch to myself.”
Teigen is married to musician John Legend, with whom she has four children: Luna, Miles, Esti and Wren.
The model said she chose to speak out now for a reason.
“I think it will help for this to come out and for me to admit to this because right now, it’s just all on me, and it just feels like this big burden on me and this big secret,” she said. “Nothing has ever gone right in my life if I weren’t fully transparent with people about something. I know that people are going to be really kind about it, and they will extend to me a lot of grace because this is how it works, right? There’s like ebbs and flows, and it’s my big, shameful secret.”
Teigen added: “I was able to quit when it wasn’t about me. That’s the problem.”
Whitaker responded, “It has to be, eventually, about you.”
“I know. It’s almost like I’ve just psyched myself into thinking that it’s for something else again,” the cookbook author said. “I’d rather do it for them than me, which is a whole other therapy session.”
Teigen said she still had a sobriety app that congratulated her with confetti.
“I let it keep going. I haven’t deleted it,” the Lip Sync Battle alum said. “I’m like, Why don’t I delete it? I think I’m punishing myself, and I think that when I look at it, I’m like, Hopefully, I’ll get mad enough to stop again.”
She continued: “It’ll say like, ‘How did you do today?’ And you’re supposed to check in with it, and I just swipe up and let it say this stuff to me, and it’s so frustrating.
“I can’t believe I even let it do this to me all the time. But I’m hoping deep down that it’ll just finally get to me, and I’ll break, and I’ll be like, I’m going to do it again. I’m going to go sober again.”
What People Are Saying
Chrissy Teigen wrote on Instagram on Friday: “Oh man. I’ve been dreading today’s podcast release since the moment we shot it. And that has nothing to do with my incredible guest—@holly. Holly Whitaker changed my life, changed my perspective and changed how I view the f*****g beast that is alcohol. But to have to admit to all of you that I let it back into my life…to let a lot of you down, oh I feel it deeply. I was so proud every time one of you told me on the street that holly and I made you want to rethink drinking, reframe drinking. I still am.
“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m doing. I one hundred percent know I like me better sober. I one hundred percent know I get more done, I absolutely feel better in my body without it. And I am one hundred percent pissed that I can’t be normal and have a cocktail with my husband on vacay without it turning into 8 and feeling like s**t. I’m tired of throwing up on a Tuesday. I don’t wanna feel like I need a shot to talk to a crowd. I hate that the thought of maybe having a drink can consume me some days. So your rational mind is probably like ‘OK THEN STOP, B***h!’ and god, do I f*****g AGREE!
“All I know is my relationship with the whole process of sobriety (and messing up) has changed for the better. I am deeply aware of where this can go if I let it. I guess my plan right now is to continue to be mindful with it. I can go to a concert sober and have the greatest time ever. I can avoid absinthe at the Ren Faire and be so abbbbsolutely full of joy. Photos of my kid’s birthday parties are no longer me with bleary, sleepy drinking eyes. And I am proud of that. But I still know my relationship with alcohol just isn’t normal and never will be. Thank you for allowing me to figure it out openly in front of you all. Anyhow. This is for all the people who are figuring it out. And to the sober community, god I am still so, so proud of you. Until we meet again.”
John Legend, Teigen’s husband, commented: “Always proud of you.”
Singer Demi Lovato wrote: “Your honesty and vulnerability is so commendable. I learned it’s about progress, not perfection! You are doing amazing and I’m so very proud of you.”
The White Lotus actor Michelle Monaghan said: “Appreciate you so much @chrissyteigen.”
Mom actor Jaime Pressly commented: “I hear you loud and clear and I am proud of you and I love you old friend. Your pure and total honesty is a breath of fresh air always.”
Vanderpump Rules star Dayna Kathan added: “Oh chrissy, i feel this caption in my bones. retweet to it all.”
What Happens Next
New episodes of Self-Conscious With Chrissy Teigen are released on Thursdays on platforms such as Audible, Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
To learn more about treatment for all types of substance use disorders, visit FindTreatment.gov or call the national helpline of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
