Macklemore Opens Up About His 'Painful' Relapse During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Macklemore is getting candid about the relapse he went through in summer 2020 after 16 years of sobriety.
The 38-year-old rapper shared his experience during an episode of Dax Shepard‘s podcast in April, having been inspired by the actor’s openness about his own respective relapse.
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“It was really painful for myself and for the people who loved me. I stopped doing the work,” Macklemore told People. “When I have to be still and exist within my own head, that’s where my disease lives… [But] I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t need to pretend like I’m some perfect dude in recovery.’ I am not at all, and there’s no shame.”
The “Thrift Shop” performer began his recovery journey in 2008, when his father helped him seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.
“Getting that help saved my life,” he continued. “I hope that people will come out of the shadows, that the guilt and the shame of the disease of addiction lessen and we don’t feel like we need to hide anymore.”
His dedication to being open about his experience extends to his children as well. The rapper shares daughters Sloane, 6, and Colette, 3, and son Hugo, 6 months, with wife Tricia Davis.
He told the outlet Sloane has been aware of his sobriety since she was 3 or 4. “Why would I hide it? It is who I am,” he said. “In terms of Daddy’s sober meetings that he needs to go to, she’s well aware and has been for quite some time.”
“I remember being like, ‘I don’t ever want my kids to see me loaded,’” Macklemore recalled. “There was this relief like, ‘Okay, now I can stay clean for someone else.’ But that’s not how this disease works. My kids can’t keep me clean. I have to do the work.”
“I would not be where I am without that treatment. And I just so happened to have a dad that could help me pay for a treatment facility,” he continued. “So many people in America cannot afford rehab.”
Last year, the performer revealed he was “about to die” before going to rehab.