Macklemore opened up about his relapse during the COVID-19 pandemic to fellow recovering addict Dax Shepard on his podcast.
During the new episode of the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast, the Grammy-winning rapper recalled the Sept. 25, 2020, segment when Shepard revealed he had relapsed after 16 years of sobriety and how the actor’s ability to be “vulnerable and honest” “really, really resonated” with him.
“It was within two months of my COVID relapse, and the disease of addiction is crazy,” Macklemore told Shepard. “It made me feel, as someone that had relapsed again, like a month or two before, that I’m not alone.”
Macklemore (real name Benjamin Haggerty), who’s been honest about his struggle with sobriety since he first admitted himself into rehab for drug addiction and alcoholism in August 2008, recently discussed the life-saving effects of treatment programs. He told Talib Kweli on his People’s Party show in February, “If it wasn’t for my pops having the 10 or 12 racks that it was when I first went to treatment and being willing to spend that on me, I’d be f—ing dead.” In his and Ryan Lewis’ 2015 Complex cover story, the “Thrift Shop” rapper cited his now-wife Tricia Davis’ pregnancy with their first child, Sloane, as the catalyst for his sobriety after relapsing during his blockbuster year of 2014, which became his much-needed “wake-up call.” The couple announced last week that they’re expecting their third child.
“I’ve spent most of the last 11 years in recovery, and it’s made me who I am,” the “Can’t Hold Us” artist said. “I’ve compromised my life and other people around me, I’ve done things that I’m not proud of, but I do have that foundational level of 10 years of recovery, and I’m f—ing proud of that.”
Listen to Macklemore and Shepard’s full conversation on the Armchair Expert podcast below.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) is available 24/7.
