John Mulaney 'shocked' by sobriety
John Mulaney is "shocked" he has maintained his sobriety.
The 42-year-old comic has spoken in the past about his addiction to cocaine and alcohol and he is proud he has managed to stay away from both since his 2020 relapse, particularly during the stress of wife Olivia Munn's cancer battle.
Speaking to Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson on their 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name' podcast, he said: "I will admit it's a huge change. Just a huge way of looking at everything. And I'm shocked I did it. I'm shocked I was able to do it. Become sober. To actually stick to it in every way. To not have, 'Well I still do this.' Nothing wrong or shameful about relapse, I'm shocked always that it landed.'
Jon realised his "obsession" had eased while caring for Olivia - with whom he has Malcolm, three, and Mai, eight months - after her double mastectomy and not being concerned about handling her strong medication.
He said: 'I remember one day she's in bed. She had the 10-hour double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and she still has more to go.
"I brought her a tray with apple juice, something she wanted to eat that her mom had made in the kitchen, and then it had Oxycontin and some sort of nerve medication and a Xanax, which they also gave just for rest and recovery.
'It never crossed my mind that I was holding these medications in my hand. The obsession of it was gone. I thought, 'Oh, I'm so far beyond that, and I can be a good butler with the best client.' '
Ted asked John if he ever feels "aggrieved" enough to be tempted by drugs, or if he can spot the triggers from "two miles out".
He replied: 'Oh yeah … I'm very lucky that life's been so great that it's always 30 miles out. But I'll be doing something and I go, 'Huh, you really want to be this exhausted, stretched thin, a little aggrieved?'
'Luckily those things are miles and miles off … That's part of it, is just always knowing, so addicted to the self-control of it in some ways and so happy that I'm always present when I'm with my kids and Olivia and friends and everything.'
While John noted there will always be his struggles inside him, he's thankful they are no longer part of his everyday life.
He said: 'I was in a bad neighbourhood of my brain for a while. You always have respect for it, that it's still there. You go, 'I see you. I know you're there. But that's not my daily life.' '
Though he is proud of his own sobriety, John is particularly proud of how Olivia has handled her health problems.
He said: 'I always look back to when she was diagnosed in April, through that whole year, she wasn't just courageous. She was fun.
"We had so much fun, it was so weird. So, it wasn't just the courage of it. She also was just always her greatest, best self throughout it.'
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