Jack Osbourne celebrated a huge achievement of 18 years of sobriety on his Instagram yesterday. He wrote,
“It’s not that it get[s] easier or harder, It’s just that it’s life on life’s terms. If anyone is trying to get sober, know that it possible if you are willing to do the work. Sending lots of love to my people who have been on this journey with me. #sobersbetter
In a joint Variety interview with his parents earlier this year, 35-year-old Jack revealed how his experimentation with drugs and alcohol started when he was a teenager. He said he was “suffering from a lot of depression in my early teens, and I was drinking a lot. And then we did The Osbournes and it gave me a rather large piggy bank, so my parents had less control, and then my mom got sick [Sharon is a colon cancer survivor].
Jack admitted his addiction was just a matter of time, saying that the reality show and fame “just sped things up to the inevitable. Whether I’d never touched a drink until the age of 50, I still think the end result would have been the same. I’m one of those people that have an addictive personality, and I like things that change the way I feel.”
He also spoke about how difficult it was going to rehab while living in the public eye: “We’re on The Osbournes in the middle of whatever season we were doing and I decided to go into treatment, and it becomes this very public thing at that point. And I just found it incredibly invasive and, morally, really inappropriate. I was 17 years old. And the stuff that was being written, and having photographers try and take photos of me while I’m in a medical facility. Such violations of someone’s privacy while they’re trying to get help.”
72-year-old Ozzy chimed in, saying “the thing is, people call it a disease, but if you had cancer, people wouldn’t climb over trees and take a photo of you in your bed. Yet they do when you’re in rehab.” Ozzy has been sober for about seven years, after battling with alcoholism and drug addiction since the ’70s. “I thought I’d be drinking to the day I die,” said Ozzy in the interview.
Jack ended his portion of the interview with some advice to a young person in Hollywood who is struggling: “If you want it, there’s a way to achieve it. It’s kind of like shut your mouth and be willing to take direction. It’s that honesty and open-mindedness, and willingness, to do whatever it takes. And if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it. Just as if you want to get loaded bad enough, you’re gonna get loaded. And it’s that kind of situation of, for me, I really wanted it. And I did what I was told. And I followed the direction of my tribe, my community around me,” he continued. “Whatever I did has continued to work, because I continue to do it. It’s never over. There were times, when I had 10 years sober, and I was raising my hand as a newcomer at a different 12-step recovery group.”
Earlier this week, sister Kelly admitted she relapsed after almost four years of being sober.
36-year-old Kelly told fans on her Instagram Stories: “This is a little hard for me to talk about, but I’ve always promised you that I will always be honest with you about where I’m at and what’s going on in my road to recovery. Not proud of it. But I am back on track.”