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Cheyenne Jackson Reveals Relapse, Opens Up About Sobriety Journey
"I’ve been carrying a lot of shame. Scared to share it. But I know it can help someone so here I go."
After 10 years of sobriety, American Horror Story star Cheyenne Jackson reveals he has relapsed.
The 47-year-old actor opened up about his struggles with addiction on Instagram to his followers. "VULNERABLE is what I’m feeling today," he began. "After nearly a decade of sobriety I fell off the wagon. I’ve been carrying a lot of shame. Scared to share it. But I know it can help someone so here I go."
Jackson spared the details but was quite open emotionally. "I didn’t want to disappoint anyone who has looked up to me as a sober person so I’ve been just burying it away. I took my eye off the ball. I stopped doing what I needed to do to keep myself on the path of my personal integrity. I could blame it on Covid. I could blame it on the state of the world. Mass shootings. A nation divided. The death of my co-star. But the truth is, I thought I had it all handled. I thought 'I got this.' But I don’t. I am a work in progress. Always."
He also thanked his support system and Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis. "Thank you to my support system. Thank you to @jamieleecurtis and so many others who have been there for me. It means everything to me. If you are out there struggling, you are not alone and there is a solution. I love you. And I love myself today and that feels really good to say. #progressnotperfection."
Curtis responded to the Instagram post. "WE ARE ONLY AS SICK AS OUR SECRETS! The truth is anyone in recovery and only has this day sober. The past is irrelevant, and the future unknown. When I went to a school in Los Angeles, we recited this every day as a community arms outstretched to the sun. I offer it to you, my friend, and anyone reading. By Kalidasa."
She then shared a poem.
"Look to this Day,
for it is Life – the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the verities
and realities of your existence:
the Bliss of Growth,
the Glory of Action,
the Splendor of Beauty.
For yesterday is already a dream
and tomorrow is only a vision;
but today, well-lived,
makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this Day.
Such is the salutation of the Dawn."
According to Queerty, Jackson actually met his husband at a 12-step meeting in 2013. The co-star he's referring to could be the late Leslie Jordan, who died suddenly last year from cardiac dysfunction.
Jackson followed up the post earlier today with a video, where he says he received over 2000 comments and DMs and stories that make him feel "so loved and grateful."
"I've always prided myself on being a lone wolf," he says. "As I get older I realize it doesn't serve me in a lot of ways in my sobriety."
We wish Cheyenne all the best in his journey!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
