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Drew Barrymore and Jason Ritter Have Emotional Talk About Toll Alcoholism Had on Their Lives

The pair discussed the power of alcohol and how they worked to move past it

Drew Barrymore and Jason Ritter, who have each dealt with their own alcoholism, opened up to each other about their experiences and the toll the addiction had on their lives.

While appearing on the March 29 episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show” with his wife, “Yellowjackets” star Melanie Lynskey, Ritter was asked when he knew Lynskey was the one for him.

“I knew how incredible Melanie was early on,” he said.

“It’s not as cute of a story as you would like to think,” he continued. “It was messy and interesting and weird. But mixed in the mix was I was dealing with some alcoholism issues.”

“Me too,” Barrymore said.

“At a point, I knew how amazing she was, and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her, basically,” Ritter said, while holding back some tears, as Lynskey held his hand.

“And I didn’t feel like I was that person. I felt a little bit too crazy or anything,” he added.

“So it was only after like maybe a year into not drinking where I started to go, ‘Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person.’ It’s been like a slow burn. So I knew that she was incredible. It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I can be the one for her, too.”

“He worked so hard. He did so much work on himself. I’m so proud of him,” Lynskey getting while choking up.

Earlier this month, Barrymore, who starred with Lynskey in “Ever After,” told the Los Angeles Times that her therapist quit out of concern for her and the drinking she did following her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman. On her show, she talked about the spell alcohol casts over her.

“I haven’t had a drink — and I’m not sober, I don’t work a program — but alcohol was my poison. And I haven’t had a drink in almost four years,” she said as the audience applauded.

Barrymore also said she has developed a tainted image that she one day hopes to change.

“The narrative that one creates is that I can’t be with someone, and I haven’t been in a relationship since I stopped drinking, and I’m really looking forward to, one day, not having that ‘bad girl’ narrative, the instability, the ‘I’m not someone who’s right to not be with anyone for their sake.’”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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