Comedian Jeff Dye spent “20 years” as a “high-functioning alcoholic” and is now working on his sobriety journey.
“I’m an alcoholic,” Dye, 40, revealed on the Thursday, December 21, episode of the “Smoochietown with Marco DelVecchio” podcast. “I have 36 days sober now.”
Dye admitted to drinking “every night since 2005,” explaining that he would start his evenings at a bar before moving to comedy club and possibly ending up at a second bar afterward.
During Thursday’s podcast episode, Dye also detailed his DUI from earlier this year.
“I woke up late because I slept through my alarm. I jumped in the cold shower, I put a hat on and just got in my Tesla,” Dye recalled, noting that he was going to meet an ex-girlfriend. “Teslas are very fast and so I just lost control of my car and crashed it. This is 9 hours after I went to sleep. It wasn’t like I was leaving a bar, I wasn’t hammered.”
While he “didn’t feel drunk” at the time of the accident, Dye was still concerned about “some alcohol” being in his system. So, he “ran from the car.”
“Then, they arrested me at a coffee shop in front of my ex, in front of everyone at the coffee shop too,” Dye recalled. “It was wildly humiliating.”
Us Weekly confirmed in October that Dye had been arrested for fleeing the scene of a traffic collision and driving under the influence. The Burbank PD revealed that he had collided with a tree and fled the accident on foot.
Dye’s aforementioned ex was Kristin Cavallari, who recounted the same incident on her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast in October, weeks after the accident, without using his name. (Cavallari and Dye split in March 2021 after five months together.)
“I go, ‘Can you guys tell me what is going on?’” Cavallari recalled during the October 24 episode, revealing that she spoke to the arresting officers. “One of the police officers goes, ‘There was a report of a hit-and-run down the street and he matches the description of the guy.’”
Dye wasn’t too happy that Cavallari spoke publicly about his accident and subsequent DUI.
“Kristin telling the story on her podcast for clicks, which f—k her … I it’s not her story to tell,” Dye said during Thursday’s “Smoochietown” episode, calling Cavallari “a terrible person” for posting photos of his totaled car on her Instagram Story.
“It was very terrible, and it hurt my feelings a lot,” Dye added. “I don’t think people realize how horrific that made me feel. Like, I don’t know if anyone will ever know. I don’t know how to explain it. Imagine the worst thing that ever happened to you and strangers are looking at you like at a coffee shop.”
Returning to the conversation about his sobriety, Dye revealed that he’s “never felt better.” He added, “I wish I’d have done it sooner.”
