Brad Pitt has a journey with sobriety over time.
Pitt attended Alcoholics Nameless in 2016 following an incident on a non-public jet together with his household which led to a baby abuse investigation. One week after the information broke, Angelina Jolie, whom Pitt married in 2014, filed for divorce. (Jolie and Pitt’s divorce continued in court docket till it was finalized in December 2024.)
Later that 12 months, the Los Angeles County Division of Kids and Household Companies cleared Pitt. In 2017, Pitt opened up about quitting drinking and the way his life had improved.
“Personally, I can’t keep in mind a day since I acquired out of faculty after I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff or one thing. One thing. And also you understand that a whole lot of it’s, um — cigarettes, you recognize, pacifiers. And I’m operating from emotions,” he informed GQ on the time. “I’m actually, actually completely happy to be performed with all of that. I imply, I ended the whole lot besides boozing after I began my household. However even this final 12 months, you recognize — issues I wasn’t coping with. I used to be boozing an excessive amount of. It’s simply develop into an issue. And I’m actually completely happy it’s been half a 12 months now, which is bittersweet, however I’ve acquired my emotions in my fingertips once more.”
Hold scrolling to see Pitt’s finest quotes about getting sober:
Being Round Alcohol
Firstly of Pitt’s struggles, he opened up about how he abstained from alcohol particularly whereas proudly owning his vineyard, Miraval.
“I take pleasure in wine very, very a lot, however I simply ran it to the bottom,” he mirrored to GQ in 2017. “ I needed to step away for a minute. And honestly I might drink a Russian underneath the desk together with his personal vodka. I used to be an expert. I used to be good. Don’t need to reside that means anymore.”
Realizing When to Cease
Brad Pitt Maria Moratti/Getty Photographs
Pitt beforehand informed the New York Times in September 2019 that he “had taken issues so far as” he might so he “eliminated” his “ingesting privileges.” When the actor sought restoration, he was surrounded by males going via related struggles.
“You had all these males sitting round being open and trustworthy in a means I’ve by no means heard,” he recalled. “It was this protected house the place there was little judgment, and due to this fact little judgment of your self … It was really actually releasing simply to reveal the ugly sides of your self. There’s nice worth in that.”
Unhealthy Coping Mechanism
Throughout a sit down with Interview magazine in December 2019, Pitt referred to his ingesting behavior as an “escape” and “disservice” to himself.
“I feel we’re dwelling in a time the place we’re extraordinarily judgmental and fast to deal with folks as disposable. We’ve all the time positioned nice significance on the error. However the subsequent transfer, what you do after the error, is what actually defines an individual,” he mirrored. “We’re all going to make errors. However what’s that subsequent step? We don’t, as a tradition, appear to stay round to see what that particular person’s subsequent step is. And that’s the half I discover a lot extra invigorating and attention-grabbing.”
Assist System
Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt Jamie McCarthy/Getty Photographs for Nationwide Board of Assessment
Pitt credited pal Bradley Cooper as certainly one of his influences to chorus from ingesting.
“I acquired sober due to this man,” Pitt mentioned after Cooper introduced him with the award for Finest Supporting Actor for his position in As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood through the 2020 Nationwide Board of Assessment Annual Awards Gala. “And on daily basis’s been happier ever since.”
Making Connections in AA
Whereas in AA, Pitt formed a friendship with Dax Shepard.
“You go round in a circle, it’s type of a spiral as a result of it’s a extremely crowded room. Dax was normally close to the top as a result of he’s been there some time. He’s type of like an elder statesman. And I actually revered it,” he mentioned throughout a June 2025 look on Shepard’s “Armchair Skilled” podcast. “It was actually open, trustworthy, was a strategy to take no matter theme appeared to go within the night after which put it within the funniest package deal. And it meant rather a lot to me, it actually did.”
Pitt added that when he was in AA the place he was at a low level.
“I used to be making an attempt something and everybody, something anybody threw at me. It was a troublesome time. I wanted rebooting,” he continued. “I wanted to wake the f*** up in some areas.”
