Jeff Daniels recalls relapse at 50
Jeff Daniels has opened up about suffering a three-month relapse when he turned 50.
The ‘Dumb and Dumber’ star has recalled the moment he picked up a drink for the first time during his relapse but stopped after three months.
He said: "I had just turned 50, which is a speed bump, and at 80 miles per hour. And I hadn’t drank for 14 years, cold. Just cold turkey. Just quit …
"I was two months into 50 and I was checking into a hotel room in some city. I’m throwing the suitcase on the bed and I hear a voice behind me. And it’s me, clear as day say, ‘Don’t you think you’ve punished yourself enough?’ And I stopped. I said, ‘Yeah, yeah I have.’ Mini bar, here we go. Three months later I was done."
And the 61-year-old actor says he didn’t hesitate but to get help from a professional.
He added: "One was trying to do it on my own and the second time was, you can’t do this on your own. You need help, you need some people who know a hell of a lot more about this than you do, Mr. Smart Guy. It’s in my family, which I came to learn."
Now, Jeff feels much more connected to his family – his wife of 37 years, Kathleen Treado, and their children, Ben, Lucas and Nellie.
Speaking on WNYC radio show’s Death, Sex & Money, he added: "I just wasn’t asleep on the floor at 7:30 at night and the kids are running round and she needs help. It didn’t need to be part of my life."
