{"id":80263,"date":"2026-04-19T21:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/andrew-lloyd-webber-quit-drinking-after-wife-couldnt-go-on\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T21:32:15","slug":"andrew-lloyd-webber-quit-drinking-after-wife-couldnt-go-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/andrew-lloyd-webber-quit-drinking-after-wife-couldnt-go-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Lloyd Webber Quit Drinking After Wife \u2018Couldn\u2019t Go On\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Andrew Lloyd Webber <\/b>recently quit drinking after noticing the effects his substance abuse struggles had on his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it\u2019s a secret, but it\u2019s not. Everybody knows. I started getting into a downhill spiral,\u201d Lloyd Webber, 78, told The Times of London<\/i><\/span> <\/i>in a Saturday, April 19, profile. \u201cAbout 18 months ago, the family were in a desperate state. My wife was feeling she couldn\u2019t go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lloyd Webber, who has been married to Madeleine Gurdon<\/b> since 1991, further called himself a \u201crecovering alcoholic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSixteen months ago I decided that I needed help and it\u2019s the best thing that ever happened to me,\u201d he told the British newspaper, revealing he sought treatment at an in-patient facility and began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. \u201cWhat I love about it is, you go into a room and everybody\u2019s equal. I\u2019ve made friends that I wouldn\u2019t have thought possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"58th<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

\n

Related: <\/span>Stars Who\u2018ve Gotten Sober<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tSeveral of Hollywood\u2019s biggest stars have been candid about their sobriety journeys over the years. Kelly Osbourne, who previously talked about being sober for six years, revealed in April 2021 that she had suffered a relapse and was working on next steps. \u201cNot proud of it. But I am back on track,\u201d she wrote via [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lloyd Webber now attends daily AA meetings, regardless of his travels.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did the meeting in New York on the day I was opening Cats: The Jellicle Ball <\/i>last week, and nobody said a thing,\u201d the famed composer said, revealing his favorite session took place in St. Louis, Missouri. \u201cIt was great fun. When you get a whole load of rednecks, it\u2019s rather different to a meeting in Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lloyd Webber previously quit drinking for 19 months in 2015 before he relapsed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing what they call \u2018white-knuckling,\u2019 without any backup, and I started to worry that I wasn\u2019t being creative,\u201d he said, revealing that songs from the likes of Cats <\/i>and Evita <\/i>were initially crafted while drinking wine. \u201cI thought, \u2018I\u2019ve said to everybody that I\u2019m not drinking.\u2019 So, I started to drink secretly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cYou don\u2019t really think. It\u2019s just, \u2018How am I going to get through the day?\u2019 I got that thing of seriously worrying that I wasn\u2019t writing, and panicked. \u2018Maybe I\u2019ll have a drink. OK, I\u2019ve written something.\u2019 It does slightly liberate you \u2014 but then it\u2019s more and more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"MEGA1301481_061-steven-spielberg\"<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

\n

Related: <\/span>Every Star Who Is an EGOT Winner<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tOnly 28 stars to date have earned the most coveted honor in Hollywood: the EGOT. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Deal of the Day [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Nearly 10 years later, Lloyd Webber decided to get sober again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky that nothing did go very wrong. I haven\u2019t had some frightful accident,\u201d he recalled of his substance abuse challenges. \u201cI thought I was getting away with it. The thing is, I am deeply sorry and I can only apologize to people if I made a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since he stopped drinking, Lloyd Webber has been even more creatively fulfilled with the productions of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Masquerade <\/i>and two musicals more in development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have done that if I hadn\u2019t been sober \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t have been concentrating enough,\u201d he quipped, referring to Masquerade<\/i>\u2019s immersive staging of Phantom of the Opera.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Lloyd Webber\u2019s family also rallied around him amid his sobriety journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went in [to my New York apartment a few months ago[ and there were all these balloons with \u20181\u2019 on them,\u201d he mused. \u201cMy youngest daughter had sent them to celebrate me being one year sober.\u201d<\/p>\n

The EGOT winner is a father of five. He shares Alastair, William and Isabella with Gurdon, as well as Imogen and Nicholas with ex-wife Sarah Hugill. <\/b>Nicholas, who died in 2023<\/span> after battling gastric cancer, had also struggled with addiction before his death.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\"\"
\n\t\"\"<\/p>\n