Actress Lucy Hale, who used to star on the show “Pretty Little Liars,” recently sat down for an interview on the podcast “Diary of a CEO” with host Steven Bartlett. During the interview, she explained that she used to binge drink and eat “so little that it’s shocking” because she felt like she wasn’t “enough.”
Hale explained that drinking and eating disorders were both “coping mechanisms” that she thought were working for her but were actually “incredibly self-destructive and self-sabotaging.”
It was a long road to sobriety for Hale, but she is finally there. She admitted, “I’ve been working on getting sober since I was 20. I’m 33. It takes time.”
On Instagram, Hale shared her 1-year milestone of getting sober with an honest post and a picture of a cake that read “1 year.”
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On the podcast, Hale explained that she was binge drinking because, at the time, she felt like she was her “truest self” when she was drunk. She would think, “I’m so much funnier and cooler and people like me.” She now knows that none of that was true. “I held onto that belief that real Lucy came out when she was drinking.”
Hale explained that another reason she drank so much was because, “It quieted my mind.” She explained, “My brain just….doesn’t shut off. It’s exhausting.”
Hale claims that explaining binge drinking to someone who doesn’t have an addiction problem is difficult, but she tried anyway. She said, “I’d pick up the first drink. I’d like the feeling. I’d have another drink. I’d really like the feeling.” After two drinks, she wouldn’t remember what happened or how much she drank. She wouldn’t remember anything.
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When asked if she had “a darkest day,” Hale explained that she actually had many days where she thought she had hit rock bottom. She said, “I had many, but I’d always pull myself out of it.” She added, “I know that my resilience is what’s sling-shotted me the other way.”
Drinking wasn’t Hale’s only struggle. She also struggled with eating disorders. She explained that she thought about food “from the moment I woke up until I went to bed at night.” She explained, “I was eating so little that it was shocking.”
While her eating disorders started because she wanted to look a certain way, that wasn’t all it was about. She explained, “It was about the way I looked at one point because I thought if I could just be this number or this goal weight then I’ll be enough.” She’s not sure why she didn’t feel like she was “enough” just the way she was, and she’s still trying to figure that out.
Watch the video below to hear more about Hale’s interview and to hear what she currently does for self care.
