Anne Hathaway reveals she's 5 years sober: 'That feels like a milestone to me'
Hathaway said drinking was probably a way she coped with "somatic stress."
Anne Hathaway revealed she is five years sober, calling the marker a "milestone."
The "The Idea of You" actress opened up as part of a wide-ranging New York Times interview where she discussed her career, age and new movie.
Hathaway mentioned her sobriety in response to a question about how she thinks about middle age.
"I don't take it that seriously. There are so many other things I identify as milestones. I don't normally talk about it, but I am over 5 years sober," said Hathaway. "That feels like a milestone to me."
Later in the interview, Hathaway conceded that drinking was "probably" a way she coped with "somatic stress" relating to not feeling comfortable in her body.
When asked about her age, Hathaway, 41, said she feels blessed to be her age, calling 40 a "gift." "The fact of the matter is I hesitate at calling things 'middle age' simply because I can be a semantic stickler and I could get hit by a car later today."
Hathaway said that the unpredictability of life factored into her perspective on aging.
"We don't know if this is middle age. We don't know anything," she said.
Hathaway first opened up about her sobriety in January 2019 on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," stating that she had decided to stop drinking for 18 years while her son Jonathan was still living with her.
The "Princess Diaries" actress later elaborated to Modern Luxury that her decision was not a judgment of the practice of drinking.
"I don't think drinking is bad. It's just the way I do it—which I personally think is really fun and awesome—is just not the kind of fun and awesome that goes with having a child for me. But this isn't a moralistic stance," Hathaway told the magazine.
Hathaway's new film "The Idea of You" is based on the book by Robinne Lee and directed by Michael Showalter. The movie follows Hathaway's character, Soléne, a 40-year-old single mom recently out of a marriage, who attends Coachella, where, in a chance encounter, meets 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, played by Nicholas Galitzine, the leader of the boy band August Moon.
Hathaway told "Good Morning America" at the film's New York City premiere on Monday that the film was a birthday gift for her.
"I actually turned 40 the day before we shot Soléne's 40th birthday," she said.
"The Idea of You" streams globally on Prime Video beginning on May 2.
