He's off the wagon

He's off the wagon

Curious about how others manage their sobriety when life starts looking pretty good? Sober Sense co-hosts Todd and Brent dig into that exact tension using recent headlines about Brad Pitt returning to alcohol after years of sobriety as a springboard for a bigger conversation. Rather than gossiping about a celebrity, they use his story to unpack classic recovery questions: is it still sobriety if someone chooses “controlled drinking”? Does seven years of abstinence vanish with a single drink?

And, as one of their favourite questions puts it, “If you have to control your drinking, is that evidence that you can't?” They walk through Pitt’s own words from an Esquire interview, where he talks about being “off the wagon” yet trying to be “professional” and restrained with alcohol.

From there, the chat widens into familiar recovery territory: the “I’ve got this” mindset, the danger of drifting away from meetings, and the illusion that personal growth alone somehow rewires an alcoholic’s relationship with drink. Todd and Brent share their own experiences of white-knuckling sobriety, obsessing over drink counts, and the bizarre pride of “only” having a couple.

They contrast that with what long-term AA involvement has given them: a repaired life, a sense of freedom from obsession, and, as Todd puts it, a “better high” than any substance ever delivered. They also raise an important point about influence: celebrity stories can cut both ways. A sober star can inspire hope, but a famous person returning to controlled drinking might tempt someone on the edge to try the same experiment.

The message here isn’t moral panic or judgement; it’s a grounded reminder of patterns the recovery community has seen thousands of times. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “maybe I could handle a couple now”, this conversation might be exactly the pause button you need.