wellness

A year ago, Chrissy Teigen quit drinking. Here's what her life looks like now.

Chrissy Teigen is celebrating a personal milestone. 

This week, she announced she is 365 days sober from alcohol, officially making it her "longest streak" since having a drink. 

The 36-year-old took to Instagram to share a clip of what life is like for her now on her booze-free journey, while admitting her personal frustration over not being able to "remember" occasions due to drinking. 

"Not a drop of alcohol in 365 days," her post began. 

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"I miss feeling loopy and carefree sometimes, but to be honest toward the end, it didn’t give that fun feeling anymore anyhow. I drank to end crazy anxiety that later mostly went away when I – get this – quit drinking! Sigh. Anyhow, I feel really good. Sometimes I get really frustrated looking back on days I should remember way better than I do because of alcohol. Like when I drank cafe patron and fell asleep while an Outback Steakhouse chef taught me (my friends) how to make a bloomin onion at my house. I wish I was awake for that."

The model went on to explain remembering award shows is difficult too.

"Wish I remembered really any awards show lol. There are pictures from huge moments in life where my eyes just look… gone. Some are from real work shoots, some just beach days with the family. While I honestly STILL don’t know if I’ll never have a drink again, I do know I never want to be that way again. And for now, none is best. I’ll let the bad dreams come up and try to sort them out in therapy, without booze."

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Back in September, Teigen celebrated 50 days without alcohol, admitting she is not sure if she will "never drink again".

"Today is my 50 day sobriety streak," the caption reads.

"It should be nearly a year but I had a few (wine) hiccups in the road," she shared. "This is my longest streak yet! I still dunno if I'll never drink again but I do know it no longer serves me in ANY way. I don't get more fun, I don't dance, I don't get relaxed. I get sick, fall asleep and wake up sick, having missed what was probably a fun night."

It was in December 2020 that Chrissy Teigen first announced she wanted to quit booze, revealing she four weeks sober. And then on Inauguration Day, in January 2021, she shared a post from the steps of the Washington Monument reflecting on her new life, alcohol-free.

"Ran our asses up the stairs for this shot. Just incredible to be here. Sober. I know that’s weird, but it’s like... a different world for me. Everything is new and better. Very happy. The most happy bigly happy," she captioned a photo of herself, her husband, John Legend, and their children, Luna and Miles.

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In December 2021, Teigen uploaded a post to her Instagram story explaining that it was when she received the book Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed With Alcohol by Holly Whitaker, that she realised it was time to give up drinking for good.

"One month ago, on my birthday, I got this book from my doctor and friend," Teigen wrote. "I was done with making an ass of myself in front of people (I'm still embarrassed), tired of day drinking and feeling like shit at six, not being able to sleep."

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"I have been sober ever since and even if you can't see yourself doing it or just plain don't want to, it is still an incredible read," she continued.

Back in 2017, Chrissy Teigen spoke to Cosmopolitan about her complicated relationship with alcohol; something that runs in her family.

"I was, point blank, just drinking too much," she told the publication. "I got used to being in hair and makeup and having a glass of wine. Then that glass of wine would carry over into me having one before the awards show. And then a bunch at the awards show."

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"And then I felt bad for making kind of an ass of myself to people that I really respected," she continued. "And that feeling, there's just nothing like that. You feel horrible. It's not a good look for me, for John, for anybody."

Teigen also explained that no one ever mentioned this to her, so she assumed that her behaviour was okay.

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"Nobody really brought it up to me," Teigen said. "They just assumed that it was okay because I always felt okay the next morning. I knew in my heart it wasn't right. It makes you very short with people. People think it's cutesy and fun to go on these boozy brunches, but there's more to it. I've never once been like, 'I'm sure glad I had that boozy brunch!'"

According to the 2018 ABS National Health Survey, one in three women in Australia are exceeding single occasion risky drinking guidelines, and one in 11 are exceeding the lifetime risk guideline (drinking more than two drinks a day). 

The most common age bracket of women exceeding the lifetime risk guideline are women aged 35-44.

36-year-old Teigen has battled with sobriety for years. 

"I used to think it was kind of nutty to have to go totally sober," she told Cosmopolitan, "but now I get it. I don't want to be that person... I have to fix myself."

If this post has raised any issues for you about your drinking, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, you can also contact Drug Aware, the 24-hour alcohol and drug support line. You can reach them on (08) 9442 5000 or 1800 198 024.

This post was first published on September 8, 2021 and was updated on July 20, 2022.

Feature Image: Instagram @chrissyteigen.

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