Jeff Daniels relapsed at the age of 50 after being sober for 14 years.
While he got sober by simply quitting drinking cold turkey at the age of 36, Jeff, 61, admitted that falling off the wagon at 50 left him in need of professional help and he has not relapsed since.
Speaking on WNYC’s ‘Death, Sex & Money’ podcast, 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.
"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."
And Jeff says getting sober has strengthened his relationship with his wife Kathleen Treado, who he has been married to for almost 40 years.
He said: "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."
Jeff Daniels opens up on relapse
