Jane Lynch says the ‘sober fairy’ gave her ‘one more chance’ after she relapsed.
The 61-year-old actress, who has been open about her battle with alcohol addiction, has opened up on her relapse five years ago after feeling ‘a kind of magical lifting of my compulsion to drink’ in her 30s.
The performer went on to express that she had experienced a similar feeling six months after she started drinking again.
Being open: Jane Lynch says the ‘sober fairy’ gave her ‘one more chance’ after she relapsed; she is seen in 2020
She told The Guardian: ‘[It was] like the sober fairy said, “OK, I’m giving you one more chance.” And it was over. Five o’clock would come and I didn’t notice it.’
Jane explained how she started drinking as a teenager as she could not come to terms with her sexuality, which made her feel ashamed.
She explained: ‘The first time you [have a drink], it’s like: “Ah, I found it. I feel happy in my body, this feeling of bliss. No one can say anything to me that would make me upset or feel badly about myself right now.”‘
The performer then expressed that the same feeling occurred every time she picked up a bottle, much to her detriment.
Addressing her own concerns: Jane explained how she started drinking as a teenager as she couldn’t come to terms with her sexuality, which made her feel ashamed; she is seen in 2020
‘And then maybe the next time you drink, you get it again. Before you know it, it’s not doing it for you. So for the most part, when I was in the throes of addiction, it wasn’t working,’ she recalled.
Lynch then expressed that her drinking habit had become a way to push hard-to-answer questions out of her mind.
‘You end up chasing [that feeling]. And then if you’re not chasing that, what are you doing? Who are you? You have to really face this emptiness,’ she said.
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The Marvelous Mrs Maisel star was grateful for all her opportunities and credits her success to sobriety as even though she was a functioning alcoholic, she arrived at a point where she had ‘a kind of magical lifting of my compulsion to drink.’
Stopping in her tracks: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel star was grateful for all her opportunities and credits her success to sobriety as even though she was a functioning alcoholic, she arrived at a point where she had ‘a kind of magical lifting of my compulsion to drink’
The performer was very open about making a decision to join Alcoholics Anonymous in an effort to maintain her sobriety.
She added: ‘I felt sorry for people who weren’t alcoholics: I just loved AA, It was very much a gift; it was almost like I was struck sober.’
Jane fell off the wagon five years ago when she decided to have a glass of wine with her dinner, and she ‘went back into denial.’
She also noted that she had rediscovered her attraction to drinking after the incident and dove right back into alcoholism.
Recurrent behavior: Jane fell off the wagon five years ago when she decided to have a glass of wine with her dinner, and she ‘went back into denial’
‘I was tied to this thing again, to some hope of what it was going to do for me, and the rest of the day didn’t matter. The only part of the day that really mattered was five o’clock,’ she said.
Despite her glittering career, Jane admitted she started drinking again out of boredom, of which she was ashamed.
Jane said: ‘I was a little ashamed, and also the denial, the justifications. My friends were fooled. I remember a friend said: “I told you you’re not an alcoholic any more.” I’d go: “I know!” I was.’
No lies: Despite her glittering career, Jane admitted she started drinking again out of boredom, of which she was ashamed
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