Lucy Hale Reveals It Took Her 13 Years To Get Sober

Lucy Hale is continuing to go public with her sobriety journey , revealing in a new interview that it took her around 13 years to get sober.

“I’ve never talked publicly about being sober I have a little over a year of sobriety,” the “Pretty Little Liars” star said on an episode of “The Diary of a CEO” podcast released on Wednesday. “I’ve been working on getting sober since I was 20. I’m 33. It takes time. It took time. And it took patience with myself.”

Hale confessed that she’s “had a problem” with alcohol from the time that she had her first drinking experience when she was 14, explaining that she was a “textbook binge drinker” who would black out. 

“I’ve never had a period of my life where I was a normal, moderate drinker. It was always, ‘Let’s go,’” Hale said, adding that she “was willing to just go to this crazy, dark place every time” and felt that when she was drinking, she was her “truest self.” 

“Of course, I tried to be a moderate drinker, just having two,” the actor said, explaining that she views her relationship with drinking as someone who has “an allergy to alcohol.” 

“My brain doesn’t work the same way as someone who can just have a glass of wine. It always wants more. It’s like, craving that feeling,” she said, later adding that “Alcohol isn’t the problem — the problem is this feeling inside of me.” 

“I tried to change for boyfriends, I tried to change for my mom, I tried to change for my career, I tried to change for vain reasons: I’m like, ‘Well, I’ll look younger and be skinner I’ll stop drinking for that,’” she admitted. “None of that shit works.” 

Hale recently disclosed that she celebrated one year of sobriety in January, calling it “the greatest thing I’ve ever done.” 

“While this journey has mostly been private, I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved,” she said. 

Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline .