Actor Brad Pitt says he’s drinking alcohol again after being sober for seven years

Brad Pitt has revealed that he has resumed drinking after seven years of sobriety, but insists he is now more cautious about his alcohol consumption.

The Hollywood actor made the revelation in a wide-ranging interview with Esquire, saying he had maintained sobriety for seven years before returning to alcohol. “I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon,” Pitt said, adding that he now drinks “in a more restrained manner.”

Pitt acknowledged that he became overconfident on a couple of occasions and quickly realised that consuming large amounts of alcohol was still unhealthy for him. The actor said he can have a few glasses of wine but has to remain disciplined about how much he drinks. “I have to be professional about it,” he said.

Pitt previously credited fellow actor Bradley Cooper with helping him get sober following his split from Angelina Jolie. During that period, he also spent more than a year attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. In the Esquire interview, Pitt also reflected on a difficult period involving what he described only as “family stuff.”

He said suicide was generally not part of his thinking but acknowledged that his emotional pain became so overwhelming at one point that he understood how someone could see death as a form of relief. Pitt stressed that he never intended to act on those thoughts, saying his survival instincts eventually took over.

When asked whether the period involved his children, the actor declined to provide further details. “Family stuff. We could leave it at that,” he said. Reflecting on the challenges he has faced despite his success, Pitt added, “This s*** ain’t easy”, even for someone who believes he has “won the lottery.”