Drew Barrymore Recalls Coping With 'Crippingly Difficult' Divorce: 'Trying To Numb The Pain'

Drew Barrymore has reflected on the struggles she went through following her divorce from her ex-husband Will Kopelman.

The 47-year-old actress, who shares daughters Frankie and Olive with Kopelman, said the divorce was "confusing" for her because there was not a single thing that led to the end of their marriage.

"There was no scandal. Nothing went wrong, which is cleaner, but makes it harder and more confusing because there isn't The Thing to point to," she said in an interview with People. "We tried so hard to make it work. A friend said to me, 'Divorce is the death of a dream.' That's exactly what it feels like, something so final you can't get it back."

Barrymore told the outlet that the years following her divorce were "cripplingly difficult," especially because she left California and moved to New York to be closer to Kopelman's family. She said she struggled in the first winter after her split with Kopelman in 2016.

"It just took me down. There are times where you can look at someone you think is a strong person and see them so broken and go, 'How the f--- did they get there?' And I was that person. I broke."

The Flower Beauty founder coped with the pain by drinking.

"It was just trying to numb the pain and feel good -- and alcohol totally did that for me. The drinking thing for me was a constant, like, 'You cannot change. You are weak and incapable of doing what's best for you. You keep thinking you will master this thing, and it's getting the better of you,'" she explained.

Barrymore had struggled with alcohol addiction in her younger years in Hollywood.

The "Charlie's Angels" actress said the divorce hit her really hard because she wanted her kids to grow up with a complete family.

"I know what that feels like," she noted. "If I haven't learned from that, then what was it all for? This is a family, so nobody's going anywhere. I was determined to make it work because we all loved each other so much."

Barrymore eventually quit drinking and went into therapy. She also decided to focus on her daughters and on her talk show, which started airing in 2020.