How Jason Ritter's Inspiring Sobriety Journey Changed His Life
Actor Jason Ritter is often portrayed on screen for who he is in real life — one of the genuine good guys. He's also well known for being the son of the late iconic "Three's Company" star John Ritter.
Jason has experienced intense pain in his life, particularly after losing his father suddenly after he collapsed on the set of his hit show "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" when the actor suffered an aortic dissection in 2003 (via The Sun). Jason has shared what a deep and loving relationship he had with his father, so the sudden loss was particularly intense and heartbreaking.
However, besides using alcohol to dampen pain, Jason says initially he began using alcohol to help overcome anxiety. He says it made him feel free and also like he was living in the moment because he was drinking to get out of his head. Now sober for close to a decade, he realizes how it has opened his life in so many ways.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
He initially stopped drinking for Melanie Lynskey
Back in 2013, Jason Ritter met actress Melanie Lynskey and by 2018, they had a daughter and were married in 2020. For Melanie, drinking was a non-negotiable so Jason knew that to make the relationship work, he would have to give up drinking.
On an episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show" the couple appeared together and discussed Jason's alcohol issues. "At a point, I knew how amazing she was, and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her, basically," said Ritter. The couple both had tears in their eyes, as did Barrymore, and Lynskey said, "Aw," and held her husband's hand.
"And I didn't feel like I was that person. I thought [I was] a little bit too crazy," the actor explained. "So it was only after like maybe a year into not drinking where I started to go, 'Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person.'"
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
His life has blossomed since he gave up alcohol
On a podcast entitled "The Unashamed Alcoholic," Jason Ritter explained what made him want to stop drinking. "I didn't feel like I was worth not drinking for ... I was doing it for Melanie,' says Ritter. "She was worth not drinking [for], I wasn't." Ritter explains how although he first gave up drinking to be with Lynskey, being sober has opened up his world in imaginable ways.
"Not drinking has gotten me to this lovely point in my life that I never thought I would get to," says Ritter. "I wanted [to be a dad]. I knew I wanted that." The "Parenthood" actor says the best thing that has come from his sobriety is "dismantling the beliefs I had about myself that I couldn't be responsible, that I couldn't be a dad or a partner ... I can actually handle responsibility," he says. "That's the hugest thing for me."
Ritter says that although he is not cured and it's something he will always have to manage, he is so thankful that he was able to get sober before his daughter was born. "My daughter is four now, so she hasn't ever seen that side of me, and I feel really lucky for that."
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).