Drew Barrymore reveals why going to rehab at 13 was the 'best thing' that ever happened to her
Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing
Drew Barrymore has described her stint in rehab as a teenager as the 'best thing that ever happened to her'.
The actress, 50, reflected on how this pivotal part of her past shaped both her adolescence and adult life in a candid chat with Feel Good star Mae Martin.
The pair bonded over their shared experience of being 'wayward teens' and being sent to similar rehabilitation facilities after struggling with addiction in their younger years.
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Martin, who uses they/them pronouns, recently made an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show to discuss their new Netflix series, which is aptly titled Wayward.
Explaining what the mystery thriller series is about, the Canadian comedian, 38, explained that it follows the story of two girls who are sent to a troubled teen institute 'and it's really life or death'.
"It's kind of a love letter to teen friendship," Martin said of the project which is loosely inspired by the experiences of their best friend Nicole.
"[Nicole] got sent to one of these troubled teen institutes where they kind of take you in the night and she was gone for two years," the actor told Barrymore.
"When she came back, she had these insane stories about that institution."
The talk show host then chimed in to share her own experience of being 'taken away and put in a place for two years'.
"Watching the show, there was way too much accuracy," Barrymore said. "It was too real for me, in that element where I knew there was no way you weren’t telling an authentic perspective."
Martin said they relied on their memories of entering rehab at the age of 16 and 'being pathologized at a very young age' as well as being inspired by Nicole's story to bring Wayward to life.
Barrymore joked that she 'thought she'd hit rock bottom' when she was forced into an institution by her mother at the age of 13, before adding: "Turns out I hit it at 40 as well."
The Charlie's Angels actress has been open about her childhood struggles which led to her being hospitalised.
After becoming a heavy hitter in Hollywood by the age of just seven in wake of her role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1982, she was drinking heavily by the age of 11, before becoming dependent on drugs at age 12.
Her mother Jaid sent her to a facility at the age of 13, where she spent 18 months being treated for alcohol and substance abuse.
Although Barrymore didn't appreciate being sent there at the time, she has since come to the conclusion that it was 'the best thing' that could have happened to her.
"I had a lot of lightness in my experience in the institution," she told Martin. "I know that sounds wild, but it was like encouragement to say your truth, to be brave, to find humour and heroism in your journey.
"And it's the best thing that ever happened to me, honestly. And I hold a lot of that sacrosanct. But it wasn't easy. It was hard as hell."
Following her spell in rehab, Barrymore legally divorced herself from her parents - and she previously revealed that it was the institution who suggested doing so.
"We emancipated," she told The Guardian in 2015. "We separated after that. I legally became an adult.
"I came out of [the institution as] a more respecting person. And my parents didn’t teach me that, and life wasn’t teaching me that. I came out in a very different way...but I still was me."
Reflecting on what her time there taught her, she said: "My mom locked me up in an institution. Boo hoo! But it did give an amazing discipline.
"It was like serious recruitment training and boot camp, and it was horrible and dark and very long-lived, a year and a half, but I needed it. I needed that whole insane discipline. My life was not normal.
"I was not a kid in school with normal circumstances. There was something very abnormal, and I needed some severe shift."
She explained she would have 'run away' if she knew her mother was planning to send her there, adding: "I would never, never have let that happen to myself."
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Topics: Drew Barrymore, Celebrity, Drugs, Alcohol, Health
Olivia Burke