The celebrities who have ditched alcohol for good as Dry January draws to a close
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If you are one of the millions who took part in Dry January, it is only a matter of days before you can enjoy the refreshing taste of a pint or glass of sauvignon blanc once more.
But are you tempted to continue to stay alcohol-free after January 31st?
You’d be joining a whole host of celebs who’ve decided to shun booze in pursuit of a healthier life. From reality TV star Millie Mackintosh to Gossip Girl actor Blake Lively, loads of celebs have made the choice to go tee-total.
Millie Mackintosh marked five months of sobriety in an Instagram post earlier this month. The mother-of-two to Sienna and Aurelia, said she was making health her priority in 2023
Millie Mackintosh
The ex-Made in Chelsea star, 33, marked five months of sobriety earlier this month. She revealed drinking was a ‘huge trigger’ for her anxiety.
In an Instagram post of her doing aerial yoga, the mother-of-two told her 1.4 million followers she was making health her priority in 2023.
She wrote: ‘The past few years my body has been through A LOT.
‘Between two pregnancies and breast feeding both of my girls, it feels like my body hasn’t fully been my own.
‘So 2023 is the year for me to prioritise my health.’
Still committed to her sobriety journey after shunning the booze in September, Millie said: ‘I’ve been alcohol free for nearly five months and I’m feeling really great.
‘It’s encouraged me to say no to anything else this year that doesn’t serve me and doesn’t make me feel my best.
‘I am learning to make decisions based on what will benefit my future self rather than what will feel good in the moment.’
Chrissy Teigen
Model and TV personality, 37, went sober in December 2020 after she confessed her drinking ‘started to get embarrassing’.
But she encountered a few ‘wine hiccups in the road’ and started drinking again.
In July 2021, Chrissy, wife to musician John Legend, started her journey all over again.
Christy Teigen (right) pictured with her husband John Legend (left). The Model and TV personality, 37, went sober in December 2020 after she confessed her drinking ‘started to get embarrassing’
Marking one year of being booze-free in a proud Instagram post, she revealed: ‘I miss feeling loopy and carefree sometimes,
‘But, to be honest, towards the end, it didn’t give that fun feeling anymore, anyhow.’
Chrissy added: ‘I drank to end crazy anxiety that later mostly went away when I – get this – quit drinking! sigh.
‘Anyhow I feel really good. Sometimes I get really frustrated looking back on days I should remember way better than I do because of alcohol.’
Leona Lewis
The singer and model, whose life changed over-night after winning the X-factor back in 2006, is sober and wants to remain alcohol-free for the rest of her life, she said in 2010.
But the 37-year-old didn’t quit alcohol because she struggled with addiction, she just doesn’t like the taste of it.
Singer and model, Leona Lewis pictured with her little girl, stays away from booze because she doesn’t like the taste of alcohol
The singer admitted she doesn’t feel like she needs to let loose.
In a interview with Instyle Magazine in 2010, she said: ‘I don’t drink, I haven’t for years. It tastes like hairspray to me.
‘I can have a great time without alcohol… I’ll sometimes have a little Red Bull.’
When her debut single Bleeding Love went to number one in the charts, she celebrated with non-alcoholic champagne.
Fearne Cotton
The TV presenter doesn’t drink, she confessed previously, and has found she feels happier for it.
Despite her love for house parties, her days of wandering ‘off to bed with beer bottles in the sink and even actual humans sleeping on the sofas’, are far behind her, she confessed to Ideal Home in 2022.
Now the ex-Radio 1 DJ, ‘still loves a good party’ but as long as she can be tucked up in bed by 9.30pm.
Fearne Cotton, 41, broadcaster and author has spoken of her struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem, which she says is just made worse by drinking. Now the host of one of the most listened to wellness podcasts in the UK, Happy Place, Fearne is still sober and making health her priority
The 41-year-old broadcaster and author has spoken of her struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem, which she says is just made worse by drinking.
In an interview with The Mirror in 2016, the mother-of-two revealed she hadn’t been drunk in two years.
She said: ‘My husband doesn’t drink so it’s not like we’re cracking open bottles of Pinot Grigio at home, we don’t have alcohol in the house.’
But Fearne admits she prefers life without booze.
Speaking about her husband, musician Jesse Wood, in an interview with OK magazine in 2019, she said: ‘My husband is a recovering alcoholic so it helps that I don’t drink.
‘I really prefer life without it.’
Fearne is now the host of one of the most listened to wellness podcasts in the UK, Happy Place.
Blake Lively
The Gossip Girl star, 34, doesn’t drink, despite bringing out her own range of mixers, called ‘Betty Buzz’.
She doesn’t like the effects of alcohol.
Despite her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, being the co-owner of the Aviation Gin, she says the line of flavored sparkling drinks can be mixed with spirits or enjoyed on their own.
With beverages ranging from tonic water, sparkling grapefruit, meyer lemon club soda to sparkling lemon lime and ginger beer, the mother-of-two released the drinks for her love of flavour not alcohol.
Blake Lively, pictured with her Betty Buzz mixers doesn’t drink because she doesn’t like the effects of alcohol. Despite her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, being the co-owner of the Aviation Gin, she insists the line of flavored sparkling drinks, can be mixed with spirits or enjoyed on their own
The star, who also played Emily in A Simple Favour, told People magazine in 2021 that she sometimes feels sidelined because she doesn’t drink.
She said: ‘I like being social. I like people coming together. I found that sometimes not drinking, the thing that was interesting was that it was a little alienating, because you don’t feel — and maybe it’s just in your own head — but you just don’t really feel a part of it.’
Blake is still sober and is now expecting her fourth child joining daughters James, seven, Inez, six, and Betty, three.
Anne Hathaway
The Oscar-winning actress, 40, quit alcohol when she became a mother in 2016.
The Devil Wears Prada star revealed she was giving up alcohol for 18 years while her son, Jonathan, three, is living in the house.
She confessed to Tatler magazine in 2019: ‘I feel like a traitor. My issue is I just love it. So. Much.
‘But the way I do it makes me unavailable for my son.’
The Devil Wears Prada star, Anne Hathaway, 40, revealed she was giving up alcohol for 18 years while her son, Jonathan, three, is living in the house
Anne admitted in the interview her last hangover lasted for five days.
She said: ‘I’d earned it: it was a day drinking session with friends that went into an evening birthday party with one of my drinking buddies.
‘I will never be that person who can nurse a glass of wine throughout an entire evening.’
Her son with husband Adam Shulman was born in 2016, meaning her next drink, in theory, won’t be until 2035.
DO YOU DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL? THE 10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL YOUR RISK
One screening tool used widely by medical professionals is the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests). Developed in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, the 10-question test is considered to be the gold standard in helping to determine if someone has alcohol abuse problems.
The test has been reproduced here with permission from the WHO.
To complete it, answer each question and note down the corresponding score.
YOUR SCORE:
0-7: You are within the sensible drinking range and have a low risk of alcohol-related problems.
Over 8: Indicate harmful or hazardous drinking.
8-15: Medium level of risk. Drinking at your current level puts you at risk of developing problems with your health and life in general, such as work and relationships. Consider cutting down (see below for tips).
16-19: Higher risk of complications from alcohol. Cutting back on your own may be difficult at this level, as you may be dependent, so you may need professional help from your GP and/or a counsellor.
20 and over: Possible dependence. Your drinking is already causing you problems, and you could very well be dependent. You should definitely consider stopping gradually or at least reduce your drinking. You should seek professional help to ascertain the level of your dependence and the safest way to withdraw from alcohol.
Severe dependence may need medically assisted withdrawal, or detox, in a hospital or a specialist clinic. This is due to the likelihood of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the first 48 hours needing specialist treatment.