Anne Hathaway achieved a significant milestone in her journey of maintaining sobriety. The 41-year-old actress revealed that she has been living a healthy lifestyle for five years. Hathaway also expressed her joy about reaching this milestone and shared an incident that helped her break the bad habit.
Hathaway brought up her sobriety, when asked about her thoughts on middle age.
In her new movie, The Idea of You, Hathaway played Solène, a 40-year-old divorced mom who finds herself in a romance with a younger man—a singer in a boy band, played by Nicholas Galitzine. During an interview about her new role, she was questioned about her thoughts on middle age.
Hathaway responded, “I don’t take it seriously. There are so many other things I identify as milestones. I don’t normally talk about it, but I’m over five years sober. That feels like a milestone to me.” She admitted that this problem was probably a method she used to deal with physical stress caused by feeling disconnected from her body.
What about an age, the actress said she feels blessed to be her age, “40 feels like a gift. The fact of the matter is, I hesitate at calling things ‘middle age’ simply because I can be a semantic stickler and I could get hit by a car later today. We don’t know if this is middle age. We don’t know anything.”
She also revealed an incident that made her choose sobriety.
The actress from Princess Diariesexplained that her choice wasn’t a criticism of this particular habit. “I knew deep down it wasn’t for me,” she said, mentioning how hard it was to explain to people that she wasn’t drinking at all in the beginning.
Eventually, Hathaway had a realization that made her stop being tough on herself for her decision, “If you’re allergic to something or have an anaphylactic reaction to something, you don’t argue with it. So I stopped arguing with it,” the star said, making it clear that she doesn’t judge anyone.
Hathaway’s choice to start a healthy lifestyle came as she was adjusting to being a mom of two. Her oldest son Johnathan just turned 8, and youngest son Jack is 3 years old. The actress mentioned that she made this decision for the next 18 years while her sons live in her house.
Talking about her eldest son, she opened up about an incident that made her think about quitting the bad habit, “He’s getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the mornings. I did one school run one day where I dropped him off at school, I wasn’t driving, but I was hungover, and that was enough for me. I didn’t love that one.”
The Oscar winning actress also decided to cut out other unhealthy habits from her life as much as possible, like social media. “I make a lot of my lifestyle choices in service of supporting mental health. I stopped participating in things that I know to be draining or can cause spirals. I actually don’t have a relationship with myself online,” Hathaway shared.
Other celebrities who have been open about their sobriety.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper has been sober since he was 29. In 2013, he said that he chose sobriety because he realized it was going to ruin his life if he kept going. In 2023, Cooper expressed gratitude for overcoming his bad habits, saying he feels “very lucky.”
Tom Holland
Tom Holland mentioned that he’s the “happiest I’ve ever been in my life” since he started his journey of sobriety. Holland admitted he definitely had a problem, “I was really, really struggling, and I started to really worry that maybe I had a problem. So I decided that I would wait until my birthday, which is June 1. I said to myself, ’If I can do six months without it, then I can prove to myself that I don’t have a problem.’ And by the time I got to June 1, I was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson decided to become sober so she could be there for her kids, “I was at a place, and I was missing out on moments with my children, and then they were seeing me, and they were very confused.”
“I just wanted to be present and have clarity and be a good role model for my children, because I always wanted to be a good role model for the world,” she explained her decision.
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe struggled a lot during the filming of the Harry Potter movies. In the interview in 2015, Radcliffe talked about his battle, “There was a period when I was transitioning out of ’Potter’ and entering the real world, where suddenly I didn’t have that stability anymore. I was quite distraught on the final day of ’Potter.’ I was really anxious. I was living by myself, and I think I was really scared.”
Lana Del Rey
In a 2012 interview, Lana Del Rey revealed her teenage battles, “That’s really why I got sent to boarding school aged 14. I knew it was a problem when I liked it more than I liked doing anything else.”
Anne Hathaway revealed the heartbreaking reason why she lost roles after an Oscar win. Click here to know the details.
I Fell Asleep in the Back Seat of a Taxi on Christmas Eve – When I Woke Up, I Was in the Garage of a Strange House
Christmas Eve always carried a weight I could never shake. As I slid into the back seat of the taxi, the world around me blurred into sleep, and I let it. When I awoke, it wasn’t to the sight of home, but to a cold, abandoned room.
The sterile white lights of the hospital hallway buzzed above me, a constant reminder of my exhaustion from back-to-back night shifts. Christmas Eve in the ER was no different from any other day—chaotic, loud, and unforgiving.
Tired female nurse | Source: Midjourney
But tonight, there was a promise of something waiting at home: Jeremy, my boyfriend of four years, a man who could light up the darkest room with his smile.
“Hey, you done?” He had called just before my shift ended, excitement brimming in his voice. “I got the tree lit, cider on the stove, and even put on that ridiculous sweater you hate. You’re gonna love it.”
I forced a laugh, the kind that came naturally when he talked about Christmas. Jeremy adored the holiday. It was in his DNA, something passed down through generations of festive gatherings with his family.
Family celebrating Christmas | Source: Midjourney
I wanted to love it too. But Christmas to me was an empty chair at a table I never got to sit at. It was just a reminder of the hollow space where my parents should have been. Growing up in an orphanage, I’d learned only bits and pieces about my parents: my mother had died when I was young, and I didn’t know much about my dad.
So for me, Christmas wasn’t a celebration; it was an ache, a reminder of everything I’d lost before I could even understand what it meant.
I shook off the thought and stepped outside, shivering as the winter air hit me. Just then, a yellow cab pulled up to the curb. The driver leaned over, gave a small nod, and smiled as if he knew me. “Megan?”
Nurse standing next to a yellow taxi | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah, that’s me.” I opened the back door and slid in, the leather seats cool beneath me. The exhaustion that had settled in my bones for the past 48 hours took over, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
It was the sudden silence that woke me. I blinked, expecting to see the familiar blur of streetlights through rain-slicked windows.
Instead, darkness surrounded me, oppressive and still. My breath quickened, and I realized the driver was gone. The taxi, too, was eerily still, parked in what looked like an abandoned garage.
Worried woman inside a taxi | Source: Midjourney
“Hello?” My voice came out weak, swallowed by the shadows.
I reached for my phone, but my fingers met an empty pocket. Panic shot up my spine as I heard it—a faint creak that cut through the silence. A thin line of light stretched across the floor as the door slowly opened, and in its glow, I saw a silhouette.
My pulse thundered in my ears as I strained to make sense of where I was. The cab, once a safe, familiar space, now felt like a cage.
Worried woman inside a taxi | Source: Midjourney
“Hello?” I called again, louder this time, but the silence pressed back, heavier than before. The beam of light grew, inch by inch until it fell on the face of a stranger.
“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice cracking.
The man didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stepped forward, the door creaking wider behind him. As he moved into the dim light, I could see the sharp angles of his face. His coat was thick and dark, the kind worn to keep out a bitter chill.
Man in an abandoned garage | Source: Midjourney
“Megan Price, right?” His voice was low, and practiced, like he knew he needed to keep it steady to control the situation.
“Why do you know my name?” I shifted in the back seat, my fingers brushing the door handle.
He exhaled, almost impatiently, and glanced at the cab, then back at me. “You’re not in any danger. I need you to come with me. There’s something you need to know.”
I laughed sarcastically. “Is that what people say when they’re about to kidnap someone? Because it’s not very reassuring.”
Scared young woman | Source: Midjourney
“To be honest,” he said, voice thick with something that made my chest constrict, “I was against the fact that we scared you so much. Your boyfriend made it all up.” His smile was a shaky mask, an attempt to soften the bombshell he was about to drop.
My mind stumbled over the words, trying to piece together the implications. Jeremy? My confusion surged into anger, hot and immediate. “What do you mean, my boyfriend made it up? Who are you?” My voice cracked as the last word tumbled out, raw and desperate.
Scared young woman talking to a stranger | Source: Midjourney
The man’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and he took a step closer. “I know this is… overwhelming,” he said, his voice wavering, “but I had no choice. We had no choice.”
A painful silence hung between us. My breath came in short, every exhale shaking with disbelief. The man’s expression crumbled, and he looked down as if ashamed. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper.
Close-up shot of a 50 year old garage | Source: Midjourney
“But I am… your father, daughter.” His eyes met mine, and this time, a tear escaped, tracing a line down the deep creases of his face. He swallowed hard and covered his mouth as if it could stop the wave of emotion threatening to break.
“No,” I breathed, the word almost inaudible. My legs weakened as I tried to piece everything together.
Scared woman talking to a stranger | Source: Midjourney
The man—my father—stood before me, shoulders slumped under the weight of emotion, but I stayed frozen in place. The word father felt sharp and unfamiliar like I’d stumbled across a shard of glass in my path.
For years, I’d pictured my parents in distant, shadowy forms, and now here was a real, flesh-and-blood person claiming he was part of me. My body ached to trust him, to accept this lost piece, but my mind held me back.
Jeremy must’ve sensed my hesitation. He stepped up, holding a crumpled envelope. “Megan, I know it’s hard to believe. But here—this is the proof. It’s a DNA test. I wanted to be sure before… well, before I put you through this.”
Young man smiling holding an envelope | Source: Midjourney
I looked down at the envelope, my heart pounding. “How… how did you even do this? How did you find him?”
Jeremy let out a sigh, glancing at the man and then back to me. “I know you never thought about searching, but… I did. Two years ago, I decided to look into your family, quietly, just in case it would mean something to you one day.”
He pulled me closer, his voice tender but firm. “I knew how much not having your family haunted you, especially at Christmas. So I started hiring people—private detectives, researchers. I went down every lead until we finally found a trail.”
Couple having a deep conversation | Source: Midjourney
The man—my supposed father—shifted his weight, rubbing his eyes as though he couldn’t quite believe it either.
“It wasn’t easy,” Jeremy continued, his voice lowering. “I found out that… well, after your mother got pregnant, she never told him. He had no idea you existed.”
I felt the sting of that, the realization that my mother—a woman I’d only known through childhood fantasies—had chosen to leave me at an orphanage and walk away. She’d vanished into the background of my life without ever telling this man… my father… what she’d done.
Woman in deep thoughts | Source: Midjourney
“She died several years ago,” Jeremy went on gently. “But I tracked down her sister. She lives in Eastern Europe, and after some long talks, she told me there was one person who could be your father. So, I reached out.”
I looked back at the man, a wave of guarded resentment and longing roiling inside me. “And he just… accepted it? Just like that?”
Jeremy nodded slowly, searching my face. “He was shocked, of course. It was only once I told him about you that he agreed to come, but I wanted to be certain. I wanted proof. So, one night I… I took a few strands of hair from your brush.”
Couple having a deep conversation | Source: Midjourney
My stomach twisted at the thought of it, the quiet lengths Jeremy had gone to, the hours, the money, all without me knowing. The man across from me—my father—clenched his jaw, his own hand trembling slightly. His eyes were locked on mine, an expression of cautious hope and deep pain in their depths.
“I did’n’t know about you, Megan,” he said, his voice thick, fighting back tears. “I didn’t know you existed until recently, and I… I didn’t believe it at first. But seeing you…” His voice faltered, and he glanced away, struggling to regain his composure.
Father and daughter talking | Source: Midjourney
The weight of his words settled heavily over me, and I took a shaky breath, my heart both heavy and fractured. “You were never there,” I murmured, a trace of bitterness slipping out. “I grew up without you. Without any of you.”
He took a step closer, then stopped, respecting the distance I maintained between us. “I don’t know if I can ever make up for that, Megan,” he said, voice raw. “I don’t even know if you’ll ever be able to forgive me. But if you let me… I’d like to be here now.”
Father and daughter talking | Source: Midjourney
Silence hung between us, thick with the years lost and the strange, uncertain possibility of the years ahead. The truth, the aching reality of what I’d been told, lay there, its edges sharp and unfamiliar. I didn’t know if I could open myself to him, didn’t know if I even wanted to.
But Jeremy’s hand tightened around mine, grounding me, reminding me that maybe… just maybe… I didn’t have to go through it all alone.
Man talking to his girlfriend | Source: Midjourney
Taking a tentative step forward, I met the man’s gaze, that mix of hope and regret in his eyes. My voice shook as I finally spoke, letting my guard down just enough to let him hear a crack in the wall I’d built.
“I don’t know if I can call you Dad yet,” I whispered. “But… I think I’d like to know you.”
His face softened, and for a moment, the years that separated us fell away. A tear slipped down his cheek as he managed a small, hopeful smile.
Father and daughter bonding | Source: Midjourney
“That’s all I could ask for, Megan. Thank you,” he said, his voice trembling with gratitude.
And as the lights from the upstairs Christmas tree spilled down the stairs, I allowed myself to take a step toward something I’d never thought I’d have—a father, and maybe, just maybe, a new family.
Young couple celebrating Christmas | Source: Midjourney
Loved this story? Don’t miss another unforgettable one: On Christmas night, I realized my 9-year-old daughter and my car keys were missing.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided as “is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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