#Dax Shepard Explains Why He Has To Be Honest About His Past Drug Use

As you’ll recall, the 45-year-old recently confessed he had relapsed on opioids during his 16-year sobriety journey, which started with the death of his father in 2013 and then continued as he was prescribed drugs for several injuries in the years following.

On Tuesday’s episode of the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, the Parenthood alum opened up about why honesty is so important in his eyes, especially when it comes to drug use.

Innerestingly, the conversation was recorded before Shepard confessed to his relapse. So interesting getting another look at his mindset in the days ahead of his reveal!

Related: Dax Shepard Is ‘Really Grateful’ For The Support Following Relapse Confession

The father of two shared with Michael Rosenbaum:

“There will be people who don’t want to admit they smoke weed. I’m just a little confused by it. If you’re not going to be honest about stuff, there are just roadblocks in interviewing. I could advance this whole thing, but I don’t want to tell people I’ve done cocaine so now I can’t advance it because of that. They all end up being little roadblocks along the way.”

As we mentioned, Dax first came clean during the September 25 episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, sharing that he was just a week newly sober at the time.

In the lengthy chat, Kristen Bell‘s husband apologized to co-host Monica Padman, and noted he had reservations about coming clean mostly because he felt bad for his wife. Knowing she would be asked about this down the line in interviews, Dax admitted:

“The other reservation I had about coming clean publicly is like ugh, Kristen doesn’t deserve for the next 6 months for every f**king interview she does to be, ‘OH Dax relapsed!’ It doesn’t feel fair to anyone. It’s not fair to anyone. I’m sorry and embarrassed I put other people in this situation.”

Ultimately, it was the lying to Padman and Bell that helped push him to come clean, especially when he realized he was not only being dishonest but gaslighting them both:

“And I’m lying to other people and I know I have to quit. But my tolerance is going up so quickly that I’m now in a situation where I’m taking, you know, eight 30s a day, and I know that’s an amount that’s going to result in a pretty bad withdrawal. And I start getting really scared, and I’m starting to feel really lonely. And I just have this enormous secret.”

We’re so glad Dax came clean. Not only for himself, but for those also struggling and in need of someone to look to for hope.

If you are struggling with addiction, call the Substance Abuse and Medical Health Services Administration hotline at 1-800-662-4357 for confidential help 24/7.

[Image via Ellen/YouTube.]