Actor Dennis Quaid is getting real about the cocaine addiction he struggled with throughout his early career. On Monday July 23, he spoke to Megyn Kelly about how his drug problems affected his life, and how he finally got clean. Click through the gallery to find out what the beloved actor had to say about staying sober, his new Ronald Reagan film, and why his marriage to Meg Ryan ended.
1 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
Megyn asked Dennis how his former drug addiction has affected his life. “You’ve been pretty open about the fact that you were a cocaine addict,” she noted.
2 of 8
Photo credit: MEGA
“I grew up in the 60s and the 70s, and there was a completely different attitude about it back then,” the Parent Trap actor said. “It was even in some movie budgets,” he explained, incredulous.
3 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“But I kept roaring on, just basically doing cocaine pretty much on a daily basis,” he said. “You’re amazed,” he noted, and Megyn was, her jaw dropping for a “Wow.”
4 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“But I kept roaring on, just basically doing cocaine pretty much on a daily basis,” he said. “You’re amazed,” he noted, and Megyn was, her jaw dropping for a “Wow.”
“I spent many, many a night screaming at God to please take this away from me, I’ll never do it again, because I’ve only got an hour before I have to be at work,” the A Dog’s Purpose star explained.
5 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
But by evening he’d do it again, continuing the cycle. So how did he get out? “I had what I call a white light experience where I saw myself either dead or losing everything that meant anything to me.” That’s how he decided to go to rehab.
6 of 8
Photo credit: MEGA
And though he did get clean, he still lost a lot. He divorced his first wife,
P.J. Soles, in 1983, and his second wife, romantic comedy icon
Meg Ryan, in 2001. In his TODAY Show interview, he attributed that divorce mostly to Meg’s galaxy-sized fame. Earlier this year,
he finalized his divorce from third wife
Kimberly Buffington-Quaid.
7 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
The
Postcards From The Edge actor also gave Megyn a tour of President Ronald Reagan’s California ranch,
the Rancho De Cielo. Dennis is playing the fortieth president in an upcoming film,
Reagan.
8 of 8
Photo credit: INSTARImages
What do you think of Dennis’ sobriety journey? Let us know in the comments!
Megyn asked Dennis how his former drug addiction has affected his life. “You’ve been pretty open about the fact that you were a cocaine addict,” she noted.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“I grew up in the 60s and the 70s, and there was a completely different attitude about it back then,” the Parent Trap actor said. “It was even in some movie budgets,” he explained, incredulous.
“But I kept roaring on, just basically doing cocaine pretty much on a daily basis,” he said. “You’re amazed,” he noted, and Megyn was, her jaw dropping for a “Wow.”
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“I spent many, many a night screaming at God to please take this away from me, I’ll never do it again, because I’ve only got an hour before I have to be at work,” the A Dog’s Purpose star explained.
But by evening he’d do it again, continuing the cycle. So how did he get out? “I had what I call a white light experience where I saw myself either dead or losing everything that meant anything to me.” That’s how he decided to go to rehab.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
And though he did get clean, he still lost a lot. He divorced his first wife,
P.J. Soles, in 1983, and his second wife, romantic comedy icon
Meg Ryan, in 2001. In his TODAY Show interview, he attributed that divorce mostly to Meg’s galaxy-sized fame. Earlier this year,
he finalized his divorce from third wife
Kimberly Buffington-Quaid.
The
Postcards From The Edge actor also gave Megyn a tour of President Ronald Reagan’s California ranch,
the Rancho De Cielo. Dennis is playing the fortieth president in an upcoming film,
Reagan.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
What do you think of Dennis’ sobriety journey? Let us know in the comments!
Photo credit: INSTARImages
