Rob Lowe has spoken out about his decision to stop drinking 34 years ago.
In his People In the cover story, the actor recalled that it was a “gradual decision” for him after doing a lot of self-reflection over time.
The Unstable star, 60, recounted the small steps he took leading up to the “final wake-up call” that convinced him to go to rehab in 1990.
“Quitting drinking was a gradual decision,” he told the outlet in the interview published Wednesday. “It’s baby steps until you’re ready.”
The Youngblood alum, who said he bonded with his youngest son, John Owen Lowe, through his sobriety, stressed, “You can’t do it until you’re really ready.”
Rob Lowe spoke about his decision to quit alcohol 34 years ago; seen in July
Before taking his first step toward treatment and recovery in May 1990, he listed multiple catalysts.
One small step in particular was seeing Warren Beatty, whom he called one of his “heroes,” in Shampoo.
“It’s a great movie, but at the end of the day, he’s a charming, bon vivant playboy who’s left with nothing,” Lowe said of the movie icon’s role in the 1975 romantic comedy.
‘It affected me tremendously and (it was) the first flash of your awareness, your destiny (and) God saying, “Psst, pay attention to this.”
He also credited the infamous sex scandal he suffered in 1988 with changing the trajectory of his life.
He said he was shocked when a homemade sex tape was leaked showing him having sex with two people.
The Outsiders alum said the subsequent fallout “definitely changed my life at the time.”
“In retrospect, I realized that it was another step that led me to recovery and reevaluating my life,” he continued.
The actor recalled that it was a “gradual decision” for him after having done a lot of self-reflection over time; seen in February 1990
The Unstable star, 60, recounted the small steps that led to the “final wake-up call” that convinced him to go to rehab in 1990 – seen last year
“But what really changed me was not being able to be there for myself and my family,” he added.
He said the lowest point came two years later, when he did not answer his mother’s call when his grandfather suffered a heart attack.
“I remember it like it was yesterday: my mom telling me (on the answering machine) ‘answer, answer’ because my grandfather had had a heart attack,” he recalled.
“I couldn’t handle it in the state I was in, and I needed to go to sleep to wake up and be able to deal with it,” Lowe continued before adding that he specifically drank tequila afterwards.
“Who doesn’t have a bottle of Cuervo Gold on their bedside table? That was the final wake-up call,” he said. “I’ve been sober ever since.”
Lowe also recalled that when he arrived at rehab, he felt “so ready” to transform his life of substance abuse into a healthier one.
“It was a relief and a fear at the same time,” he admitted before opening up about his time in rehab and his path to sobriety.
“I learned the tools to change your life if you have the honesty to do it,” he said. “I felt, ‘Oh, okay, I’m not alone. I’m not crazy.'”
“I had no doubt,” he continued, noting that he was determined to stop drinking and stay sober for good. “I didn’t think, well, maybe I’ll be sober for a while.
‘I always tell people, “You can’t stop drinking, I don’t care if it’s fentanyl, alcohol, drugs, cocaine, marijuana, gambling, overeating, sex addiction, whatever; you can’t stop doing it for your job, your wife, your family, your parole officer, because you’ve screwed something up.”
“You will only stop when you are ready. Period.”