Patricia Heaton cites embarrassing pandemic moment as catalyst for sobriety

Patricia Heaton recounted that the onset of the coronavirus pandemic left her without her usual anchors of family and work, as her children had left home and she was not employed. Her casual glass of wine while cooking gradually turned into drinking during meals, chores, and TV shows, eventually culminating in a night when she nearly finished a whole bottle by herself. She prayed, asking for divine assistance to stop drinking, acknowledging her own inability.

The following night, while with her sons and their friends, she failed to pronounce the word “tradition,” an episode she described as mortifying. That moment convinced her to begin a sober lifestyle, a change she says started eight years ago. Heaton is married to British actor-director David Hunt and is mother to four sons: Samuel, John, Joseph and Daniel.