Cameron Diaz Says Drew Barrymore's Addiction Relapse Was 'Difficult to Watch'
Drew Barrymore is at a high in her life. Her daytime show has been renewed for a fourth season, she's sober, she's dating, she's co-parenting her kids, and she has wonderful friends. It's those wonderful friends, including Cameron Diaz, in fact, who stood by her side when things weren't so bright and shiny and she was fighting her addiction battle.
In a new profile of Barrymore in The Los Angeles Times, Diaz discussed her longtime friend's former troubles with alcohol abuse and how she supported her through them.
Barrymore has previously spoken of how, after gaining fame as a child actor, she developed a drinking problem at the age of 11, became addicted to cocaine at 12, and was put into rehab for attempting suicide at 13. Through the years, she worked to get clean, but when in 2016 her third marriage failed, she relapsed.
The profile revealed that the actress began to drink heavily and constantly following her 2016 split from ex-husband Will Kopelman. The breakup came after the 50 First Dates star had somewhat decided to put her career on hold and move to New York City with Kopelman to raise their daughters—Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8—near his family. When the relationship did not work out, however, Barrymore turned to alcohol, causing her longtime therapist to dismiss her as a client, and alienating some of her friends.
Diaz said that time was 'difficult to watch'.
'But I knew that if we all stuck with her and gave her the support she needed, she would find her way,' Diaz told the outlet. 'I have absolute faith in her. You can't even comprehend how hard it was to be her as a child, and then she shot out the other end with the ability to save herself.'
Barrymore and Diaz, who starred in the 2000 cult-classic Charlie's Angels together, have been close friends since the '90s. And now that she's a show host, Barrymore has welcomed Diaz on set various times.
Barrymore has talked about her sobriety journey and past addiction troubles on her show, and in the profile, she admitted it was the offer she got from CBS in 2019 to host her own talk show that pushed her to make a real change in her life.
'I think the opportunity at a show like this really hit me,' she said. 'I was like, "I can't handle this unless I'm in a really clear place."'
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