Cheyenne Jackson opens up about addiction struggles and the joy of fatherhood
The 'American Horror Story' star discusses leaving the darker side of showbiz behind in the new January issue of Attitude.
By Steve Brown
As a celebrated gay Hollwyood actors, Cheyenne Jackson is understandably no stranger to the wilder side of life.
But, as the American Horror Story star admits in the January issue of Attitude – available to download and to order globally – his one-time journey towards the darker side of the entertainment industry has been swapped for a very different role: fatherhood.
In a world exclusive interview, 43-year-old Cheyenne, who celebrated five years of sobriety this year, reveals how the intoxicating showbiz party scene began to take its toll on his life.
“My biggest thing was booze, but I definitely liked cocaine and [other] party drugs [such as] ecstasy. I was in that world and it was what you did”, he says.
Cheyenne Jackson, shot by Taylor Miller exclusively for Attitude’s January issue
“You were at a party and there would just be a pile of coke there. It got out of hand. My life became unmanageable.”
There was no ‘rock bottom’, Cheynne says; just a gradual slide which he only just managed to stop before it was too late.
“I didn’t have a ‘thing’ where I lost my job. I was never drunk at work,” he recalls.”It was simply getting too much.
“I couldn’t even go out to dinner, or have a moment with friends, where I wasn’t thinking about drinking, and the drinking always led to ‘Let’s get some coke’.
“It was an unhealthy pattern and I’d seen too many friends fall deeper and deeper, losing everything.
“I wasn’t going to let myself do that. I didn’t go to rehab, I just started going to meetings and got my shit together.”
After finding sobriety, Jackson found love, too; marrying his husband, businessman and former actor Jason Landau, in September 2014 and welcoming twins, a boy and girl, just two years later.
“We both wanted to have biological children, and we had a lot of friends who had gone through it and had wonderful experiences. Being there while your children are born, immediately having skin on skin…” he beams.
“If you’ve ever seen yourself as a mother or father, you want to see yourself.”
He adds: “I’m focused on my marriage, my sobriety and my fatherhood, just trying to raise good people.”
Read our world exclusive interview with Cheyenne Jackson in the January issue of Attitude, out now.
Buy now and take advantage of our best-ever subscription offers: 3 issues for £3 in print, 13 issues for £19.99 to download to any device.
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