Ozzy Osbourne Feels 'Lucky' to Be Sober: 'There's Nothing Special About Me'

Ozzy Osbourne Feels ‘Lucky’ to Be Sober: ‘There’s Nothing Special About Me’

2021-02-20

Pictured: Ozzy Osbourne, in a black and white photo.

Ozzy Osbourne publicity photo – Story by Cat Badra

Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon and son Jack open up about addiction in a new interview, with Ozzy stating he feels “lucky” for being around seven years sober

Ozzy Osbourne has long struggled with substance abuse, and now, the metal icon, triumphantly, is around seven years sober. In a recent interview, Osbourne, his wife Sharon and son Jack open up about their battle with the disease, with Ozzy telling Variety, “I thought I’d be drinking ’til the day I die.”

So, why did Ozzy start abusing alcohol and drugs in the first place? “I’ve never liked the way I felt,” he said in the Variety interview. “I’ve had great success in my life, but I’ve never felt great about myself. And so, from a very early age, I used to sniff fumes, all kinds of things, anything to get me out of my head.”

Sharon added that she first discovered alcoholism was an actual disease 36 years ago. After Sharon saw Elizabeth Taylor go to the Betty Ford Center, she demanded that Ozzy go, too, and he went the day after their daughter Kelly was born.

At first, the rehab didn’t work, and Sharon says she worried for years that Ozzy would succumb to the disease and die. Instead, Ozzy took more trips to rehab, which helped get him sober. He also wanted to be a good dad, which was another motivator to clean up his act.

“You realize the kids have got this fear in their eyes,” he said. “I mean, it’s a very selfish disease. My kids needed me.”

He added, I’m 72 years of age. Most of the people that I drank with are dead. And the ones that aren’t, that still continue to drink, are going to be dead soon. It’s not a happy ending.”

Ozzy says that he’s “lucky” for winning the battle with addiction. “There’s nothing special about me,” Ozzy said. “I should have been dead 1,000 times. I’m not being big-headed about that, or invincible. It doesn’t take much to kill you.”

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.