Machine Gun Kelly’s Vulnerability Inspired Drew Barrymore To Open Up About Sobriety

It’s still uncomfortable for a lot of people to be open and honest about their mental health. For Drew Barrymore, she found inspiration from a surprise source to do just that, and it led to her revealing that she’s more than two years sober.

It all went down when she taped Friday’s episode of her eponymous talk show with guest Machine Gun Kelly. An innocent segment with MGK showing off his new nail polish line took a real turn when he confessed to her that he’s not feeling okay and he’s reconsidering the idea of smiling his way through things.

MGK has long been a proponent of being candid, open and honest about mental health, and has opened up about his own struggles in this area. Here, his candor had an unexpected impact on Drew herself, who talked about her 2016 marital split from Will Kopelman and how that struggle impacted her.

“I had these two kids I had to fight for and I needed help. So I started reaching out to different people and eventually I made some big sweeping changes in my life. I got on a whole new track. Not back on track, but a whole new one that I helped build. I just wanted to have a nuclear family so badly and when that dream did not come true … I had to dig deep and continue to work on myself.”

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Part of Drew’s journey is a path to sobriety, which she hadn’t intended to really talk about, but after her chat with MGK she changed her mind. She said she was reluctant to reveal her personal situation publicly because she “didn’t want the pressure of the word sober or the judgment.”

Drew first revealed her sobriety of two and a half years on Thursday’s installment of “CBS This Morning.” You can check out her discussion there below, and then tune in for her full interview with Machine Gun Kelly on Friday’s installment of “The Drew Barrymore Show.”