NEED TO KNOW
- Paul Patton spoke candidly about her decision to become sober in 2018
- The actress explained that one reason she quit drinking was to spend more quality time with her son, Julian Fuego
- Patton shares Julian, 15, with ex-husband Robin Thicke, whom she filed for divorce from in 2014
Paula Patton is opening up about her sobriety journey.
Patton, 49, appeared on the Atlanta radio show Big Tigger Morning Show with Jazzy Mcbee on Monday, June 16, to chat about her new film, Finding Faith. At the start of their conversation, she said she took the role of Faith because she “goes through so much,” and she related the character’s journey to her personal experience with sobriety.
“Seven years ago, I got sober and life took me on a journey which was wild but amazing,” she began. “When you get sober, it’s so funny, I just had this epiphany that I had made a choice like, it was family, it was my life, or chaos to be honest.”
She came to that realization ahead of filming a movie in London, because she wanted to spend her time with her son. Patton shares son Julian Fuego, 15, with ex-husband Robin Thicke, whom she filed for divorce from in 2014.
“I said, ‘I can’t do it.’ But then, in that moment, I said if I do this, ‘I’m going to stop drinking,’ ” she explained. “So once that happened, you go down a path and all of the masks that you wear, right like all the things that fill your ego, they drop away.”
Patton said she lost “friends” and things like her work began to “fall away.”
“So you have to find your way through it to find out who you truly are, and that can be really challenging. There’s a lot of time alone, you know, and having to face myself and memories and such,” she said. “But then on the other side was this joy, just joy for being a mother, a joy of life.”
“Suddenly, I just had this childlike experience, where I started to see everything through my kid’s eyes. Because he’s my best friend,” she said, adding, “It was like being born again.”
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Finding Faith is now in theaters. In the film, Patton’s character seeks guidance from her family, pastor and friends as she seeks to rebuild her life after a tragedy sends everything spiraling.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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