EXCLUSIVE Courtney Stodden has QUIT drinking alcohol to cope with past trauma as it 'made me feel ashamed'

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Courtney Stodden is giving up alcohol after turning 30-years-old.
And the former teen bride has told DailyMail.com that she is 'very happy with the decision' as she works on her 'sobriety journey and overall health.'
'Giving up alcohol also helps with my mental health,' Courtney, who has recently signed on for a new Lifetime biopic, shared. 'I feel better without it.'
The wife of movie producer Jared Safier then explained that she had reached for drinks when she felt stressed by fame.
'Alcohol was my escape for years, but it turned into a trap,' shared Stodden to DailyMail.com. 'I used it to survive trauma, but it ended up making me feel more lost and ashamed. This breakup isn't just with a substance—it's with a version of myself I'm ready to leave behind.
'At some point, blacking out stopped being cute. I used alcohol to deal with pain, but all it did was make things messier—and make me louder in all the wrong ways. I'm finally cutting ties. Alcohol and I? Total toxic ex energy.'
More Americans are abstaining from alcohol consumption. This trend is particularly noticeable among younger adults, who are increasingly embracing a 'sober curious' lifestyle, according to Time magazine.
Stodden broke the news of her newfound sobriety on Instagram on Tuesday as she began, 'Alcohol, I'm breaking up with you. It's been a toxic relationship for years.
'Something I used to cope, to escape, to survive. But it's hurt me more than it's ever helped me—publicly and privately,' wrote the siren.
'Last night was the last time. I'm done letting it control me. I'm done feeling sick and ashamed. I want to be fully present in my life. I want to face my past, my trauma, and my current reality with clear eyes and real strength. To those who understand this battle—thank you.'
Stodden also shared: 'Please respect my space as I walk this new path. It's not easy, but it's necessary.'
The pinup model who resembled Marilyn Monroe also wrote: 'This is something I've gone back and forth about posting. But my life has always been so public and this is a big part of my healing.'
Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend Crystal Hefner commented, 'I am so proud of you. I haven't drank since 2009 and it's the best thing. Life is so much brighter and happier without the poison bringing me down. You got this.'
Stodden replied, 'Soul sis❤️.'
Former talk show host Ricki Lake added, 'You got this.'
Her nemesis Chrissy Teigen, who once told Stodden via social media to more or less die - gave up alcohol as well but recently re- introduced it.
The SI model has admitted she doesn't have a 'normal' relationship with alcohol and has to work on that.
The runway veteran also expressed gratitude for the support she has received from her husband, All Of Me singer John Legend.
This comes after Courtney shared her feelings on her tragic teenage bride story after her 14 year wedding anniversary.
The beauty told DailyMail.com that tying the knot with 65-year-old A Time To Kill actor Doug Hutchinson was a bad move and she won't pretend otherwise.
She was just 16-years-old when she married Hutchison, who was 51 at the time, at a Las Vegas wedding chapel in 2011.
'It stays with me, the pain, I won't stay quiet,' she told DailyMail.com adding Doug was 'emotionally abusive.'
The model then said: 'My voice is my power and for every voice silenced, I'll shout louder. And I won't ask for permission to do what's right. Not anymore. I speak for that little girl within.'
Stodden added: 'I am living life on my own terms now. Everything that's happened in my life, I have handled. I am strong, resilient. I am coming back to myself. I will never let anyone silence me again.'
And she wants to help others: 'I want past victims and survivors to really tap into that part of themselves. We are so strong.'
She has also called Doug a 'groomer' who had control over her body, and finances.'
Due to her being a minor, Courtney's parents had to sign off on the union. 'I think the marriage that I went through in Vegas — it was so fast and I couldn't process it because I was 16,' Courtney shared.
Stodden acknowledged the 14-year anniversary of her married to Doug.
She shared: '14 years ago, a 16-year-old girl stepped into a world that would try to break her. Relentlessly bullied, mocked, told to end her life. Violated. Shattered. Lost in pain she never asked for.
'But she survives…
'Today is a sacred reminder: we are not defined by what was done to us—we are defined by the fire it forged within us. By how we rise. By how we protect the little girl who still lives inside us, fiercely and unapologetically.
'I will never let anyone silence her again. I wake up for her. I fight for her. And every day, I choose to stand in my power.
'To every woman reading this: you are not alone. You are not broken. You are becoming.'
She faced widespread media scrutiny and was labeled everything from a 'child bride' to a 'whore' for marrying a man 34 years her senior, all of which impacted her body image and mental health.
The couple went on to appear in a string of reality TV shows such as Couples Therapy, Celebrity Big Brother and Hollywood Hillbillies.
This comes just as Stodden shared a note about 'coming back' while touching on her 'strength and ambition' following her teen wedding scandal from over a decade ago.
Stodden's note to her Insta Stories was powerful.
'She's coming back to herself... Look at her,' began the passage. 'Everything that's happened in her life, she's f***ing handled. She works hard. She is strong, she is ambitious, she is resilient. She is genuine and loyal.
'Anyone who doesn't value what she brings to the table, doesn't deserve her. She's seeing her worth. She's living life on her terms. She's coming back to herself.' The quote was from Women Of The Future.
The former teen bride is wed to movie producer Jared Safier at the Casa de Monte Vista hotel in Palm Springs, California.
It was in a 'last-minute' ceremony, she said.
Courtney began dating the Emmy-winning TV producer in summer 2023 after meeting on the set of a film project and they were engaged by June 2024.
She told the outlet that she and Jared felt now was the 'perfect time' to get married as both of their families were in Los Angeles for the Thanksgiving holiday.
'We planned on getting married, and we didn't have a date. We just kind of looked at each other, and we're the same kind of crazy. We just looked at each other and we're just like, 'This is the perfect time to do it,' she explained.
After exchanging their vows, Courtney and Jared treated their guests to vegan food at the reception.