Dean McDermott has been candid about his sobriety journey following his separation from Tori Spelling and he’s grateful for how far he’s come.
“Hey, everybody! I am posting to let everybody know that it is my birthday today. I turned 57 and yes, I’m fishing for birthday wishes, why not?” McDermott quipped in a Thursday, November 16, Instagram video taken in his car. “I’m having an amazing day. I’m sober, I’m healthy [and] I feel fantastic.”
McDermott noted that he recently spoke with his sister, who gave him some pearls of wisdom about turning another year older. “She said, it’s just a number and everyone gets to be young, but not everyone gets to be old,” he recalled. “Think about that one, very sage wisdom. … So, wear your experience like a badge of honor.”
McDermott reiterated his birthday mindset in an uplifting caption. He wrote, “Hell ya!! I’m 57 today and loving life!!! SOBER!!!” and added hashtags for “Happy Birthday,” “Love Life,” “Change” and “Happy.”
McDermott disclosed his sobriety battle in a candid Daily Mail profile earlier this month. In his sit-down, McDermott noted that his issues with substance abuse was the primary reason that he split from Spelling, 50.
“Alcohol made me feel good enough. I started feeling good enough until it got to a point where it didn’t — it ended up in isolation,” he told the outlet. “It ended up with me drinking a fifth of tequila every night, seven days a week and a handful of [prescription medications] by myself with a beautiful family in the other room.”
He continued: “That’s what it led to and that’s what led to the brokenness and to what happened between me and Tori. I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t live that life anymore. I was tired of the anger and the yelling.”
McDermott added that Spelling was a pillar of support and encouraged him to seek treatment.
McDermott announced in June that he and Spelling had separated after 17 years of marriage before deleting the announcement several hours later. McDermott told the Daily Mail that he was at “the end of my rope” when he hit publish on the breakup statement.
“I was literally at my wit’s end. That night, I was drinking, and I was into my pills,” McDermott recalled. “After I sent the post, I took some more pills, and I took six or seven Ambien in the hopes that I would not wake up.”
McDermott has since completed a 40-day inpatient treatment facility and is living in a sober group home for men. He has claimed that he has yet to see Spelling or his children since his rehab stay. (McDermott and Spelling share sons Liam, 16, Finn, 10, and Beau, 6, and daughters Stella, 15, and Hattie, 11. McDermott is also father of son Jack, 25, whom he shares with ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace.)
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
