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Tag: Rob Lowe

  • Rob Lowe: My Sex Tape Helped Me Get Sober

    Rob Lowe: My Sex Tape Helped Me Get Sober

    Lowe discussed his sex tape scandal and journey to sobriety on The Jess Cagle Show.

    Actor Rob Lowe said that a 1988 sex tape that he made with an underage girl was one of the best things that’s happened to him in life, because it prompted him to get sober. 

    “What Am I Doing With My life?”

    Lowe made the tape with a 16-year-old, who he says he did not know was underage. When Lowe was sued by the girl’s mother, his career was disrupted. However, the tape and the ensuing scandal made Lowe, then 24, take another look at his behavior, he said on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show.

    “It’s one of the reasons why I got sober. I, like, woke up one day and was like, ‘What am I doing with my life?’” Lowe said, according to USA Today. “People talk about it, I go, ‘I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.’ Honestly, I do, ’cause it got me sober. Sober got me married. I’ve been married 29 years, and I have two great sons. I don’t think any of that happens without going through that scandal. I really don’t.”

    Celebrating 29 Years Of Sobriety

    Earlier this year, Lowe celebrated his sobriety on Instagram. 

    In March, he wrote, “Today I celebrate 29 years of sobriety. Thank you to all those who have inspired me on this wonderful, challenging and life-changing journey. If you, or someone you know, are struggling with alcohol or addiction, there CAN be a future of hope, health and happiness. And it comes one day at a time. #recovery #ItWorks.”

    In the Jess Cagle interview, Lowe joked that he didn’t take advantage of the tape like he could today. 

    “The problem was, I didn’t make any money off of it like everybody does now. I was too stupid,” he said. 

    It’s not the first time he has joked about the tape. In March he told Marc Maron, “The real (expletive) up was that I didn’t wait 20 years later to do it where it would have helped my career. 1 billion percent ahead of the curve.”

    Demi Moore Was His Sober Role Model

    While the scandal from the sex tape might have prompted Lowe to get into recovery, having sober role models was important in helping him see that recovery was possible. Earlier this month Lowe said that Demi Moore inspired him to see that life in recovery was possible. 

    Speaking on The View, Lowe said that Moore, “was the first person I ever knew who got sober. She was a huge inspiration to me. It was the ‘80s, we were all doing our thing. I just remember thinking, ‘If that girl can get sober, anybody can.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Rob Lowe: Demi Moore Inspired Me To Get Sober

    Rob Lowe: Demi Moore Inspired Me To Get Sober

    The Parks & Rec actor discussed Demi’s influence during a recent interview on The View.

    Rob Lowe said Demi Moore inspired him to get sober in the ‘90s as his career was taking off.

    During an appearance on The View on Monday, Lowe recalled that his St. Elmo’s Fire (1986) costar “was the first person I ever knew who got sober.”

    “She was a huge inspiration to me,” he said. “It was the ‘80s, we were all doing our thing. I just remember thinking, ‘If that girl can get sober, anybody can.’”

    The two also starred in the 1986 romantic comedy About Last Night…

    Rob’s Sober Journey

    Seeing Moore do it first paved the way for Lowe to follow. He became sober in 1991 following his sex tape scandal which he called “the beginning of it all” in a 2014 interview with The Fix. He celebrated 29 years of sobriety in May.

    “Everybody has that person in their life where they go, ‘That’s a great example.’ So it was very helpful,” he said on The View.

    Lowe recalled rehab being a positive experience, which gave him the “answers that I didn’t have” about life. “It was like going to school to learn how to live your life with tools that nobody ever taught me,” he said. “Here’s one of the great ones I learned: Never compare your insides to someone else’s outsides.”

    Moore Tells All In New Memoir

    Moore’s memoir, Inside Out, has caught a lot of attention since it was released in late September for her writing about her marriage to Bruce Willis, Ashton Kutcher, and growing up with her alcoholic mother.

    She wrote about relapsing after nearly 20 years of sobriety because she wanted to be “ a fun, normal girl” for ex-husband Ashton Kutcher.

    She also shed light on the 2012 incident that landed her in the hospital when she suffered a seizure at a party, where she smoked synthetic marijuana and inhaled nitrous oxide.

    “In retrospect, what I realized is that when I opened the door [again], it was just giving my power away,” she said in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “Part of being sober is, I don’t want to miss a moment of life, of that texture, even if that means being in some pain.”

    She has re-committed to sobriety since that time. Last October, she was presented with the Woman of the Year Award by Friendly House, a women’s recovery program in Los Angeles.

    “Early in my career, I was spiraling down a path of real self-destruction, and no matter what successes I had, I just never felt good enough. I had absolutely no value for myself,” she said at the event.

    When she was given the opportunity to change by “two people, who I barely knew,” she took it.

    “It gave me a chance to redirect the course of my life, before I destroyed everything. Clearly they saw more in me than I saw in myself, and I’m so grateful, because without that opportunity… I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Rob Lowe Reflects On 29 Years Of Sobriety

    Rob Lowe Reflects On 29 Years Of Sobriety

    The actor shared a message of positivity on Instagram as he celebrated the milestone.

    Actor Rob Lowe celebrated 29 years sober from drugs and alcohol in an Instagram post. In the caption of a photo of his younger self, he left some encouraging words to anyone who finds themselves on a similar path to his.

    “Today I celebrate 29 years of sobriety. Thank you to all those who have inspired me on this wonderful, challenging and life-changing journey,” he captioned the post. “If you, or someone you know, are struggling with alcohol or addiction, there CAN be a future of hope, health and happiness. And it comes one day at a time. #recovery #ItWorks.”

    His post was well-received by fans with over 82,000 likes, including support from big names like actress Demi Moore and supermodel Naomi Campbell. Lowe’s own brother, Chad, also pitched in: “Congratulations!!! Thanks for saving me a seat!!”

    Lowe’s son, Johnny, posted in support of his father. “So proud of you. Love you,” wrote Johnny.

    Lowe’s alcohol use led him to some dark places, including a 1988 sex tape of himself with a 16-year-old girl in Atlanta, where he was supposed to appear in support of Michael Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. He says the incident helped him realize how far he had fallen.

    “It ends up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” he said in a 2011 interview with Oprah. “Because what it ends up doing is accelerating my alcohol [addiction] to where I finally get sober. I have been able to have the rest of my life that I’m so blessed with, which is now 20 years of sobriety.”

    The Parks and Recreation star has been open about his struggles, including how he problematically replaced his substance addictions with exercise.

    “It became an outlet for all of the tension, stresses, compulsivity,” said Lowe. “I funneled the addiction, frankly, into that.”

    Eventually Lowe was able to approach exercise with a healthier mentality, integrating it as a way to understand himself.

    “I don’t want to have the smoothie stand. I don’t want to look at beautiful women when I work out. I like the forced mental solitude of it,” said Lowe. “Inevitably, it will force you to start working through things you’re not going to if you’re listening to Jay-Z.”

    Most importantly, he was able to admit to himself that he exercised for the wrong reason—to look good.

    “Men deny having vanity—that’s the greatest vanity. Not me. I’m vain as fuck,” confessed Lowe.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Rob Lowe Talks Replacing Alcohol With Exercise

    Rob Lowe Talks Replacing Alcohol With Exercise

    “It became an outlet for all of the tension, stresses, compulsivity. I funneled the addiction, frankly, into that,” said the Parks & Rec actor. 

    More than 28 years ago, actor Rob Lowe hit the gym to convince himself that he didn’t have a substance abuse problem. As long as he could run breakneck sprints—a quarter-mile in 60 seconds—he told himself he was okay, Lowe said in a recent interview with Men’s Health.

    Although he never lost the ability to do the sprints, at some point his alcohol abuse was undeniable. When he got sober 28 years ago he made exercise his coping mechanism. 

    “It became an outlet for all of the tension, stresses, compulsivity,” said Lowe, who got sober when he was 26. “I funneled the addiction, frankly, into that.” 

    Today, workouts are still part of the recovery program that Lowe works every day. His mornings begin with a run or a spin routine, before doing weights or circuit training. He forces himself to be present in the moment, giving himself a mental as well as a physical workout, sans music. 

    “I don’t want to have the smoothie stand. I don’t want to look at beautiful women when I work out. I like the forced mental solitude of it,” said Lowe. “Inevitably, it will force you to start working through things you’re not going to if you’re listening to Jay-Z.”

    His sons, who are 23 and 25, introduced him to surfing, and now he is more skilled at the sport than they are. It appealed to him because it complements his recovery. 

    Lowe said, “You’re always chasing a high that you’re probably not going to ever repeat. Conditions change, so no waves ever just stay the same. Nothing can ever stay the same. Nothing.”

    However, Lowe’s love for exercise isn’t all about high-brow beliefs. He admits that he loves to look good, saying, “Men deny having vanity—that’s the greatest vanity. Not me. I’m vain as fuck.”

    In addition to his workouts, Lowe maintains a strict diet inspired by Atkins. He also does intermittent fasting, replacing breakfast with a mid-morning snack. 

    Lowe, who is now 54, says he feels just as good as he did when he was newly sober in his late twenties. “I feel exactly like that guy,” he said. “And I see him.”

    In 2015, Lowe took to Twitter to celebrate 25 years of sobriety. He wrote, “To those struggling with addiction, there is true, real hope. 25 years ago today, I found recovery; and a life of promise. #Grateful”

    View the original article at thefix.com