Kelly Osbourne Gets Candid About Her Relapse Following 4 Years of Sobriety

Speaking out about her addictions after suffering a relapse earlier this year, Kelly Osbourne is getting candid about the painkiller habit that began when she was just 13 years old. On an episode of “Red Table Talk” featuring Jada Pinkett Smith, Kelly said that her addiction to Vicodin started when she was prescribed the medication following a tonsillectomy.

“That was all I needed,” she said in the episode, which aired on Facebook Live.

“Red Table Talk” is hosted by Pinkett Smith alongside her mother and daughter, and discusses a variety of real-life issues and topics. Kelly’s episode shed light on the opioid crisis, and how, for Osbourne—like many—a lifelong battle began with just one prescription.

The daughter of famous rocker Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly grew up in the spotlight, and like her brother Jack, had many of her teenage woes broadcast to the world on the family’s reality TV show, The Osbournes. Besides Kelly, dad Ozzy, mom Sharon, and brother Jack have each had their own struggles and successes with addiction recovery.

In Kelly’s case, the addiction to Vicodin progressed into heroin use, as the drug was cheaper than prescription medication. Throughout this time, Kelly was also abusing alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs—a cycle that continued for many years.

Kelly attended rehab several times before achieving long-term sobriety in her early thirties. She achieved four years sober in 2021, and was a consistent advocate for the sobriety and achievement of others.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, though, Kelly struggled with alcohol use, and took to Instagram in April 2021 to reveal to her followers that she had suffered a relapse.

“I can only share about what I’ve been through and what I know from myself. And that is, relapse is one of the hardest things we face as an open addict who has gone through the program and turned their life around,” she said in a video at the time.

On “Red Table Talk,” Kelly revealed more details about how her relapse happened, saying, “I was alone, sitting by a pool and waiting for somebody to come have a meeting with me. And I saw this woman and her husband had a glass of champagne, and it looked really nice, and I was like, ‘Oh, I can do that too.’ And then the next day, I had two glasses. And then the day after that, it was bottles.”

Kelly referred to the episode as part of suffering a “nervous breakdown,” and said that her decision to drink was due to a false perception that she could tolerate some drinking due to her long-term status in sobriety.

She said in an interview with Extra that, “I am an addict and had thought that I had enough time under my belt and I could drink like a normal person, and it turns out I cannot and I will never be normal.”

Now picking up the pieces following her relapse, the 36-year-old TV show host revealed to Pinkett Smith that she began attending outpatient addiction treatment again, and even stated that “90% of her women’s group relapsed during the pandemic.”

All too familiar with the daily fight that is required for sobriety, Kelly is speaking out about her journey to hold herself accountable and to share her story with others. Now dating cinematographer Erik Bragg, Kelly stated that she felt embarrassed by her alcohol relapse, and is motivated by that feeling in her enduring battle to stay sober.

While sobriety is a familiar journey in the Osbourne family, each member has taken their own path—though each of them have remained candid and honest with the public about their struggles, and how they have shaped their lives.