Valerie Bertinelli joined a long list of stars who have decided to leave the party life behind.
After successfully completing Dry January, which involves abstaining from alcohol for the entire month, Bertinelli decided to make a lifestyle change and is approaching her one-year sobriety milestone. The Food Network star gave up alcohol for two reasons.
“I’ve decided to go for Dry January. I like it so far,” Bertinelli announced on her Instagram story at the time. “I do it for two reasons. One, I want to try to reduce my sugar cravings. And I think alcohol makes that worse.”
From left to right, Valerie Bertinelli, Brad Pitt, Elle MacPherson and Rob Lowe all enter the year 2025 committed to their sobriety. (Getty Images)
Second, she said, “I want to calm down the cortisol in my body that has been raging for the past five, six years. I’ve been in fight, flight, freeze, fawn mode. And I want to rest and digest,” she shared. “I think giving up alcohol will help me with that.”
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A month later, Bertinelli revealed the positive effect that resulted: she lost weight.
Valerie Bertinelli took part in Dry January in early 2024. (Unique Nicole)
“So here’s a fun side effect of Dry January,” she said in a video on TikTok. “These jeans I’m wearing were so tight a few months ago that I couldn’t button them comfortably. Now they’re so loose that it’s time for me to size down.”
Below you can see other stars who have been committed to their sobriety for years.
Elle MacPherson
In 2023, supermodel Elle MacPherson celebrated the twentieth anniversary of her sobriety.
ELLE MACPHERSON ‘Never regretted’ getting sober 20 years ago
During a conversation with the Australian magazine Body + Soul in November 2023, Macpherson opened up about his decision to get sober in 2003, saying, “It was a wonderful springboard into getting to know myself on a deeper level.”
Elle MacPherson has been sober since 2003. (Gisela Schober/Getty Images)
She went on to say that it was a decision she has never looked back on with regret.
“Although it took discipline and perseverance, the bottom line is that you can’t be good and present in your life if you’re not present and good, and alcohol doesn’t really support that. It’s very difficult to get to know yourself when you’re numb yourself.”
MacPherson isn’t the only star who has been sober for decades.
Rob Lowe
In May 2023, Rob Lowe celebrated his 33rd birthday when he got sober, writing on Instagram how “grateful” he is to have “found recovery and a tribe that has supported him” on his journey to recovery.
“If you or someone you know is struggling with any form of addiction, hope and joy await if you want it and are willing to work for it,” he added.
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Lowe spoke earlier to diversity in 2021 about the origins of his addiction, explaining that he started drinking when he was a teenager, and that his addiction worsened when he started acting and was introduced to drugs. He got sober in 1990.
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“Nothing can make you sober unless you want to do it yourself,” he told the newspaper. “The threat of losing a marriage, losing a job, incarceration – you name it, it won’t be enough to do it. It has to be inside you. The reason people don’t get sober 100% of the time when they go into programs is that people are not ready when they start using the tools.”
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper discussed his journey to sobriety during an appearance on an episode of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge” in 2023. During the episode, he revealed that he has been sober since he was 29 and called himself “lucky.”
Bradley Cooper gave up alcohol when he was 29. (Jamie McCarthy)
During the episode, Cooper told Bear Grylls how his past experiences struggling with addiction helped him connect with his character in “A Star is Born.”
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“It made it easier to actually get in there,” he said on the show. “And thank God I was at a place in my life where I felt comfortable with all of that, so I was able to really let myself go. I’ve been very lucky with the roles that I’ve had to play. It’s been a real blessing , I hope I can keep doing it.”
Brad Pitt
After Angelina Jolie filed for divorce Brad Pitt in 2016, the actor got sober. He told it The New York Times in September 2019: “I had taken things as far as I could go, so I revoked my drinking privileges.”
During his acceptance speech at the 2020 National Board of Review Awards for his role in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Pitt credited Cooper for helping him get sober, saying “every day since has been happier.”
In an interview from June 2022 with GQ, Pitt discussed how Alcoholics Anonymous helped him.
Brad Pitt got sober in 2016 after filing for divorce from Angelina Jolie. (Presley Ann)
“I had a really cool male group here that was very private and selective, so it was safe,” he told the outlet. “Because I had seen things of other people being recorded spilling their guts, and I just think that’s horrible.”
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In that interview, Pitt also mentioned that he had quit smoking cigarettes during the pandemic, saying, “I don’t have the ability to do just one or two a day.” By 2023, Pitt has launched a new gin but is reportedly still sober.
