Drew Barrymore Talks About Her Divorce Before Finding “Real Happiness”

Drew Barrymore, 48, was married 3 times, and her last marriage ended in divorce in 2016. Of course, this kind of process can be traumatic for any person, and Barrymore had to take some time to recover. Here is what she said as she opened up about this period, revealing what secrets her heart hides.

Divorce can be the end of one story and the incarnation of another. This is exactly what happened to Drew Barrymore, although she had to go through a tough time.

“There was no scandal. Nothing went wrong, which is cleaner, but makes it harder and more confusing because there isn’t ’the thing’ to point to. We tried so hard to make it work. [A friend] said to me, ’Divorce is the death of a dream.’ That’s exactly what it feels like, something so final you can’t get it back.”

Barrymore added, “There are times where you can look at someone you think is a strong person and see them so broken and go, ’How did they get there?’ And I was that person. I broke.”

Unfortunately, to be able to cope with psychological trauma, she adopted some bad habits. “It was just trying to numb the pain and feel good,” the actress said. “You cannot change. You are weak and incapable of doing what’s best for you. You keep thinking you will master this thing, and it’s getting the better of you.”

But then Barrymore suddenly realized that she had children and needed to protect them, and that wasn’t possible without taking care of herself. The actress went back to therapy, explaining, “It was my kids that made me feel like it’s game time.”

Now she understands that dreams can change, and that’s life. Just because she got divorced doesn’t mean that she failed. She just chooses other ways to be happy.

“[Happiness] is a choice. You have to work for that. It is hard to get to some days. And so when you’ve harnessed it, that feels like such a better victory.”