Everything John Mulaney Has Said About Drug Addiction, Recovery

• Facebook
• X

14

John Mulaney is choosing honesty when it comes to sharing his struggle with addiction and his attempts to stay sober.

During his 2012 comedy special, New in Town, Mulaney explained why he decided to stop drinking years prior. “I used to drink too much, and then I would black out and I would ‘ruin’ parties, or so I’m told,” he joked. “When you do that enough, when you black out drinking and you do crazy things, you kind of become, like, Michael Jackson. Like, any story anyone says about you might be true, and even you don’t know by the end.”

Mulaney revealed in 2014 that he had been sober since September 2005. However, in December 2020, he voluntarily checked into rehab for alcoholism and cocaine addiction.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Subscribe to newsletters

Please enter a valid email. Subscribe

By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly

Deal of the Day

Manifesting Spring? This 49%-Off Pink Two-Piece Set Will Kickstart Your Spring Wardrobe View Deal

Check our latest news in Google News

Follow Us

Check our latest news in Apple News

Follow Us

A source told Us Weekly at the time that it “was a relief to his wife and family that he checked in” and got professional help, adding, “John has always been engaged in his sobriety. The relapse got ugly, but it was his choice to go to rehab, which saved his life.”

The comedian left rehab in February 2021. Us confirmed his split from wife Anna Marie Tendler that May — and confirmed his relationship with Olivia Munn soon after. He and Munn welcomed son Malcolm in November 2021. Three years later, the couple tied the knot and expanded their family with daughter Méi, whom they welcomed via surrogate in September 2024.

Scroll down for more of Mulaney’s honest quotes about his addiction journey and the road to recovery:

Credit: Manny Carabel/Getty Images

John Mulaney's Most Candid Quotes About His Addiction and Recovery Through the Years

John Mulaney is choosing honesty when it comes to sharing his struggle with addiction and his attempts to stay sober. During his 2012 comedy special, New in Town, Mulaney explained why he decided to stop drinking years prior. "I used to drink too much, and then I would black out and I would 'ruin' parties, or so I'm told," he joked. "When you do that enough, when you black out drinking and you do crazy things, you kind of become, like, Michael Jackson. Like, any story anyone says about you might be true, and even you don't know by the end." Mulaney revealed in 2014 that he had been sober since September 2005. However, in December 2020, he voluntarily checked into rehab for alcoholism and cocaine addiction. A source told Us Weekly at the time that it "was a relief to his wife and family that he checked in" and got professional help, adding, "John has always been engaged in his sobriety. The relapse got ugly, but it was his choice to go to rehab, which saved his life." The comedian left rehab in February 2021. Us confirmed his split from wife Anna Marie Tendler that May — and confirmed his relationship with Olivia Munn soon after. He and Munn welcomed son Malcolm in November 2021. Three years later, the couple tied the knot and expanded their family with daughter Méi, whom they welcomed via surrogate in September 2024. Scroll down for more of Mulaney's honest quotes about his addiction journey and the road to recovery:

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Putting It All Out There

"I don't drink. I used to drink, then I drank too much, and I had to stop," Mulaney said during his special New in Town in 2012. "That surprises a lot of audiences because I don't look like someone who used to do anything."

Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock

An Act

In 2018, the comedian explained how he hid his struggles from his parents growing up.

"I kept up appearances. They knew that I might go to a party and drink beer or something. They had an understanding of high school parties and they weren't idiots," he said during an interview on Off Camera. "But if I was, you know, messing around with drugs when I was very young, I knew to keep up appearances. I'd be on mushrooms and come through the front door and go, 'Hello, good evening, I'm going to be upstairs,' and then just run up."

Mulaney recalled being very careful with how he behaved in front of those closest to him so they wouldn't catch on to the bigger problems he was facing.

"I really was like, 'I'm going to keep my grades up and keep up appearances,'" he continued at the time. "I also didn't smoke pot. It was like I was an uptight, wanted-to-get-good-grades, wanted-my-teacher-to-like-me person. [I] wanted to be involved, was worried about college, all that stuff. Well, I wasn't that worried about college. I was worried about day-to-day life. And then on the weekends , [I] would drink like Keith Moon, and you know, take Ambien to see what it would do."

Credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix/Shutterstock

The Beginning

"I drank for attention. I was really outgoing, and then at 12, I wasn't," Mulaney told Esquire in September 2019. "I didn't know how to act. And then I was drinking, and I was hilarious again."

Mulaney shared that he started drinking at age 13. While he never smoked marijuana, he used cocaine and other prescription drugs.

"I wasn't a good athlete, so maybe it was some young male thing of, 'This is the physical feat I can do,'" he added. "'Three Vicodin and a tequila and I'm still standing. Who's the athlete now?'"

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Getting Help

"I went on a bender that weekend that was just, like, fading in and out of a movie," he told Esquire in September 2019, explaining his decision to sober up at age 23. "It was just crazy. A weekend that was ... there were ... I'm never going to tell you. That's mine. I didn't kill anyone or assault anyone. But yeah, I was like, 'You're f--king out of control.' And I thought to myself, 'I don't like this guy anymore. I'm not rooting for him.'"

The comedian noted that he didn't use a recovery program at the time and had stayed sober since the 2005 incident.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

The Intervention

After seeking treatment following his 2020 relapse, Mulaney described the moment he was confronted by friends about finally getting help.

"When I opened the door, I knew right away it was an intervention," he explained on on Late Night With Seth Meyers in September 2021. "That's how bad of a drug problem I had, that when I opened a door and saw people, I went, 'This is probably an intervention about my drug problem.'"

Credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix/Shutterstock

Coping With Humor

While speaking to Meyers in September 2021, Mulaney remembered trying to talk his way out of going to rehab.

"God, I needed to be the smartest person in the room, even at the intervention," he said, remembering how Meyers helped him when he was at his lowest. "So I remember saying to all of you, 'Before you all read your letter, I have a drug problem, and I need help.' Just to scoop you. … I kept insisting I was sober at the intervention. Remember when I looked at everyone and I went, 'I'm sober now. I'm sober right now.' I wasn't. Remember when I kept going to the bathroom? That was for drugs."

Although it wasn't initially what he wanted, Mulaney thanked Meyers for being there and kickstarting his path to sobriety.

"I didn't want an intervention... At that moment in time, I wanted to continue using drugs," he noted. "Sitting here tonight, I'm so grateful to you and to everyone there for saving my life, OK? That night, I was not grateful."

Credit: Michael Simon/Shutterstock

New Chapter

Mulaney gushed about his relationship with Munn in September 2021, announcing that they were expecting their first child together.

“In the spring, I went to Los Angeles, and met and started to date a wonderful woman named Olivia," he detailed. “She got to date me right out of recovery, which is what they call a reverse catch."

The Netflix star felt "really happy" because of how much the New Girl alum helped him on his journey. “I got into this relationship, and it’s been really beautiful with someone incredible," he shared. "And she’s kind of held my hand through that hell. It is a very, very lucky thing to have met this woman."

Credit: Will Heath/NBC

A New Milestone

While hosting SNL for the fifth time in February 2022, Mulaney offered more insight on his decision to get sober.

"For many, many reasons, I'm grateful to be here tonight after a very complicated year. It is wonderful to be in a place that's always emphasized sobriety and mental health. Since I last hosted, different things have happened," he shared, referring to his December 2020 intervention. “Do you know how big of a drug problem you have to have if you open a door and see people gathered, your first thought is that this is probably an intervention about my drug problem?”

Following a funny bit about breaking up with his drug dealer, the stand-up comedian gushed about his son.

"We were in the delivery room. My girlfriend had just given birth to him and he's crying a little, so they bring him over to this warmer on the other side of the delivery room, and they put them on the warmer under this big bright light and light is just shining in his eyes," Mulaney reflected on son Malcom's November 2021 birth. "He just looks up at the light and [he squints]. He was annoyed, but he didn't say anything. I was like, 'That's my son.' A polite man in an uncomfortable situation, but he's not going to make a fuss. He’s a very good boy.”

Credit: Ray Tamarra/Soul B Photos/Shutterstock

Coincidences

In April 2023, Mulaney revealed that he was at his drug dealer’s apartment before attending his surprise intervention. “I finally got the right balance,” he said on an episode of the “This Past Weekend with Theo Von” podcast. “One pocket all coke. One pocket all Xanax and I was like, ‘I have done it. I reached equilibrium.”

Upon arriving to a “bunch of people” at his home, he insisted that he “hadn’t used drugs” in several days. “I went, ‘Look I am sober now. Look at me, I am sober right now,’ I kept saying,” Mulaney added.

Credit: Marcus Russell Price/Netflix

Netflix Special Revelations

Mulaney opened up about his “star-studded” intervention in his April 2023 Netflix special John Mulaney: Baby J. “Do you know how bad of a drug problem you have to have if, when you open a door and see people gathered, your first and immediate thought it, ‘This is probably an intervention about my drug problem?’” he stated.

While several famous comedians were in attendance — including Bill Hader, Nick Kroll, Fred Armisen and Natasha Lyonne — Mulaney revealed that they all took a vow not to crack jokes. Calling the experience “maddening,” he shared, “I was going psychotic. I am sitting there in an awful chair, crashing from cocaine. No one will let me go to the bathroom to freshen up, and the funniest people in the world are staring at me, refusing to do jokes.”

Although the intervention initially left him feeling “powerless” and “very angry,” Mulaney noted that he was “grateful” for everyone who participated, adding that they “totally saved my life.”

Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Self-Reflection

During an October 2023 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Mulaney celebrated achieving nearly three years of sobriety post-relapse. “I am a happy person,” he said when asked what he’s learned from his struggles. “I have, for some reason, set up various obstacles in my own way that have left me sometimes … pretty disoriented and pretty unhappy. But I am, at my core, a happy person. And it’s OK for me to protect that by living the life I want to live. … I don’t want to be the reason [my life] gets complicated.”

Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for The New Yorker

Another Rehab Visit

In Mulaney’s November 2024 GQ cover story, it was revealed that the standup relapsed and went to rehab for a second time following his split from Tendler.

Credit: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Random Drug Tests

Munn shared that she staged an intervention for Mulaney while she was six months pregnant with their son. The pair agreed that she would give Mulaney random drug tests, which they still perform to this day. Mulaney confessed that the screenings helped him feel at ease with his recovery.

“It’s like a relief,” the comedian told GQ in November 2024. “I like to be able to not even have that be a question in her or anyone else’s mind. Something about peeing in that cup is like, I’m walking this walk. It gives me confidence.”

Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

No More Cigarettes

Mulaney confessed that he also decided to give up smoking.

“I liked that Ricky Ricardo sat around the house, looked at a magazine for some of the day, smoked cigarettes and then went to the club at night and did his job in show business. I thought that is absolutely the best lifestyle, and I live that now,” he reflected in GQ’s Actually Me series in November 2024. “Except I don’t smoke cigarettes anymore because a man hypnotized me in Santa Monica.”

In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies

Just For You

North Carolina Mother is Found Alive 24 Years After Vanishing

Rebecca Gayheart Addresses GoFundMe Established After Eric Dane's Death

Eric Dane’s Friends Launch $250K GoFundMe in Support of His 2 Daughters

Eric Dane's Friend Defends GoFundMe Campaign Launched After His Death at 53

Olympic Speed Skater Kamila Sellier Shares Update After Face Cut by Blade 

In this article

Anna Marie Tendler

John Mulaney

Olivia Munn

• Youtube
• News News
• Podcasts

Play Crosswords Now

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Subscribe to newsletters

Please enter a valid email. Subscribe

By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly

More Stories

• Youtube
• News News
• Podcasts

Play Crosswords Now

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Subscribe to newsletters

Please enter a valid email. Subscribe

By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly

Close Button for "Got a Tip" Form Thanks for the tip! Got a tip for US? We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz! Please enter a name. Please enter a valid email. Please enter a phone number. Please enter a message. Send the Tip! Cancel OK ✕ Your account

• Account
• Purchase
• Favorite
• News
• SubscriptionsSubs
• Address
• Digital Library

Sign Out Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions Sign In Need an account? Sign up now! Email Password Forgot password? Sign In

By clicking Sign In, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy.

Sign InUp with your social account

Continue with Google Continue with Apple

We won't post to any of your accounts

Sign Up Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers. Already have an account? Login Name Email Password Confirm Password

Your password must include:

• Min 8 characters
• Min 1 lowercase character
• Min 1 uppercase character
• Min 1 number

Sign Up I agree to the terms of the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy and receive emails from US Weekly

Sign InUp with your social account

Continue with Google Continue with Apple

We won't post to any of your accounts

Forgot your password? Enter your email to receive activation code. Reset Password * Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google or Facebook password. Visit Google or Facebook to do that. Reset your password An email has been sent to with a recovery code. Please enter it below: Proceed Resend code Enter new password Enter new password Confirm Password

Your password must include:

• Min 8 characters
• Min 1 lowercase character
• Min 1 uppercase character
• Min 1 number

Submit Or get back to the Sign In