Kristen Johnston Recalls Her Drug Addiction That Seemed Like An 'Abusive Relationship'

Kristen Johnston opened up about her past struggles with drugs and how it felt like an "abusive relationship." The actress guested on Elizabeth Vargas' podcast "Heart of the Matter" Tuesday and talked about how her fame from the popular sitcom "3rd Rock From the Sun" led her to substance abuse.

"It was like an on-off relationship for four years, and it only became really bad after 3rd Rock," Johnston disclosed.

The 53-year-old actress also shared that the fame she got from the sitcom, which ran from 1996 to 2001, just felt so overwhelming.

"I was able to keep a lid on it for a couple of years, and then we became married, me and my opiates, a couple of years after 3rd Rock, and it was a very, very abusive relationship," she explained.

"The work was fun, but everything that came with it was so terrifying to me, and I didn't realize until later that I lived in a state of absolute panic for 10 years," she added. "Ugh, I'm going to be found out. I'm being chased by the paparazzi. They're going through my garbage. They're going to write crap about it. My mom's going to see."

The actress also revealed that she had been admitted to a hospital on a New Year's Eve due to an ulcer. According to her, it was that particular incident that made her realize that her habit must come to an end.

"I saw all these fireworks, and everyone was outside at the Eye, and I could see the London Eye from my hospital bed, and it just occurred to me that there are people standing there watching that outside," she recalled. "They're with their friends and their family, and they are not worried about where their next pills are. I haven't done that for 15 years. That was the first time sanity seeped through."

Johnston won the fight and she has been sober for more than 14 years now. However, her younger sister Julie died in August 2020 after an arduous battle with addiction.

The actress shared the sad news on her Twitter account last year. "Yesterday my beautiful younger sister Julie lost her battle with addiction. I know she's finally at peace. She had the best belly laugh in the world," her tweet read.

Johnston was last seen in the movie "Small Town Wisconsin," which was released in August 2020.