The second season of Drew Barrymore‘s hit daytime talk show premiered on Monday — and as much fun as the show usually is, the host got very serious for a bit when it came to looking back at her childhood.
The beloved 46-year-old actress used part of the season premiere of The Drew Barrymore Show to take a trip through her past and re-visit some of the most difficult parts of her childhood.
Related: Drew Barrymore Describes Her Time Working With Controversial Film Director Woody Allen
In a powerful 15-minute segment of the episode, Drew took her film crew on a tour of Los Angeles, reminiscing about where she grew up within the city. Things got extremely heavy, though, when she revisited the mental health institution where she was held for 18 months as a teenager.
Recalling her days as “a real wild child,” the movie star broke down in tears remembering how her mother first admitted her to the Van Nuys Psychiatric Hospital after the then-teen girl struggled with drug and alcohol addiction at an early age. Drew explained how she was held there against her will, telling the camera (below):
“I was a real wild child and I just got so out of control that no one knew what to do with me. They drove me here in the middle of the night and they walked me through those two doors and when you go through those two doors you do not come out… [people were] put in stretcher restraints and tied up. And I was there for a year and a half.”
Chilling…
As awful as that time was in her life, and as terrible those memories may be, Drew also admitted that there is something important about recalling her childhood and those events. Reflecting on how far she’s come since those fateful days, the 50 First Dates star said:
“I think this is important for me to share with people because when they watch our show we have a very beautiful set and I get to dress in nice clothing and get my hair and makeup done and there is an elegance, hopefully, to the show. But I will never lose sight of this part of my story and I have seen and been through things and they’ve helped me just recognize in all of us that we go through stuff. And it can’t be embarrassing. It has to be our strengths, it has to be something that we can be proud of because we overcame it and we look back with honor and humor.”
And she added more, too, reflecting on how far she’s come in the three decades since then and how great her life is now:
“Life is so wonderful compared to what it was in this place. I can’t even believe I actually get be be where I am now because when I was here I didn’t see that, I thought I would be here forever. I never thought I was going to make it to somewhere better and I am just so happy with my life and I don’t know if I would have the life I have if it wasn’t for a place like this. So it was so important to come here today and just like honor this.”
Quite a journey, indeed.
Related: Drew Accidentally Sent A Racy Video Meant For Cameron Diaz To A Teenage Boy
You can watch the powerful, emotional full segment here:
Wow.
It’s obviously very well-documented that Drew lived quite a wild, traumatic life growing up, but to see her personally grapple with the memories is an emotional, gut-wrenching experience. Happy to hear that she’s taken such a happier and more meaningful path today.
She deserves every bit of the good life!
[Image via The Drew Barrymore Show/YouTube]
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