Elle Macpherson reveals she still attends regular AA meetings following her decision to quit alcohol 20 years ago: ‘Without being sober, I wouldn’t be here’
Elle Macpherson has revealed that she attends AA meetings to keep her sobriety in check.
The supermodel quit drinking in the run-up to her 40th birthday and is doing everything she can to kick her bad habit from the past.
“To be honest…I just wanted a break and it was a fantastic time for me to tackle a lot of things that I hadn’t had time to explore,” she said. Fitzy & Wippa from Nova 96.9 with Kate Ritchie this week of her decision to quit.
“It’s been amazing to get sober and stay sober. It’s been the foundation of my whole life, honestly, because without sobriety, I wouldn’t be here.”
The Australian model also shared an anecdote about a recent AA meeting she attended.
“I went to a meeting yesterday and it was really funny. One of the guys said that he was embarrassed to go to AA meetings at first, but he wasn’t embarrassed about falling out of a nightclub or wetting himself,” she explained.
“We have such preconceived notions about how terrible life would be without alcohol, and I am living proof that life can be so joyful, so free, so powerful.”
Elle added that her biggest fear when she got sober was “the fear of being my true self.”
Elle Macpherson (pictured) has revealed she attends AA meetings to help keep her sobriety in check. The supermodel gave up drinking ahead of her 40th birthday and is working hard to ditch her past bad habit
The star previously said the turnaround came during a difficult time in her life.
“I quit drinking in 2003 because I felt like I wasn’t fully present in my life and it was a great springboard to get to know myself on a deeper level,” she said Body+Soul.
She added that she had an “awakening” when she stopped drinking alcohol.
“Everyone walks their own path and I don’t want to tell anyone what to do, but I know this is a decision I’ve never regretted,” she said.
‘While it took discipline and perseverance, the bottom line is that you can’t be healthy and present in life if you’re not healthy and present. And alcohol doesn’t really support that.
“It’s very difficult to get to know yourself when you numb yourself.”
“It’s been amazing to get sober and stay sober. It’s been the foundation of my whole life, really, because without sobriety, I wouldn’t be here,” she said.
Elle celebrated her 20th anniversary in September and proudly shared a photo of her blue and gold triple Alcoholics Anonymous medal
Elle celebrated her 20th anniversary last September and proudly shared a photo of her blue and gold Alcoholics Anonymous three-plate on Instagram.
The beauty, who was nicknamed ‘The Body’ by Time Magazine in 1989, had previously thought about getting sober.
“It’s funny, 40 is such an introspective year,” she said Gritty Pretty magazine in 2020.
“I actually got sober when I was 40. I wanted to spend some time introspecting,” she continued.
“I quit drinking in 2003 because I felt like I couldn’t be fully present in my life and it was a great springboard to get to know myself on a deeper level,” she previously said
Elle previously told Ocean Drive magazine that she started focusing on health and wellness in her 40s.
“Beauty at any age is a boring cliché, but beauty is not just reserved for youth,” she said.
“There’s a big movement that supports that. I didn’t feel any milestone pressure at all when I turned 50, maybe because I’ve been preparing for this stage in my life for a long time.”
“When I turned 50, I no longer felt like I was hitting a physical plateau. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, I need to get myself together before I turn 50.’ It was more like I was reborn.”