Jack Osbourne says being sober is a "part of his life" now as he celebrates 16 years of sobriety.

Jack Osbourne

Jack Osbourne

The 33-year-old television personality decided to get sober at the age of 17 but he hopes opening up about his past struggles will encourage other people to seek help.

He told People magazine: "It's a part of my life. I got sober at 17 and ... it's a long time. I chose to kind of commit myself to living life sober. I think in this day and age when the opioid crisis is what it is - it's the number one killer of men under the age of 50, it's actually lowered the life expectancy of Americans now - I think people need to be more open about, 'Hey there is a solution to this problem. It might not be the only solution but there is one out there.'"

Jack revealed he had been 16 years sober in a lengthy Instagram post, where he admitted the past year has been the "toughest year of his life and recovery".

He wrote: "By far this has been not only the toughest year of my life but also the toughest year of my recovery. I have learned so many things about myself. Some good, some not so good. But I continued to do it sober even in the face of legit pain and sadness. From divorce, to learning how to be a single father of 3 little girls, to showing up for my family when they have needed support the post. If at 17 someone told me where I'd be at 33 with 16 years of continual sobriety I would have laughed and told you to fuck off. Even though this last year of sobriety was filled with so much pain it all led to some fantastic personal growth."


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