Kelly Osbourne Says She's Been to Rehab 7 Times — and the First Stint Taught Her 'How to Be a Better Drug Addict'
The 39-year-old TV personality has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse in the past and shared "heartbreaking" details of what life was like in rehab facilities
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Kelly Osbourne is being transparent about her experiences with rehab.
As part of the new documentary, TMZ Investigates: Matthew Perry and the Secret Celebrity Drug Ring, the TV personality, 39, opened up about how going to rehab for her drug and alcohol addictions was not always helpful.
"First rehab I went to was like university on how to be a better drug addict," she revealed.
"I'd learned so many tricks, so many things that I never even thought of from my fellow addicts that were in there," she explained. "I'd also seen people threaten to leave until they got given what they wanted, whether it be Ambien for sleep or Valium for nerves — they would somehow end up getting it."
Osbourne — who has been to rehab seven times — also made a shocking comment, claiming that in her experience staff members of these facilities take advantage of those battling substance abuse.
"They'll sit outside of AA meetings looking for weak and vulnerable people that they encourage to go and relapse so they can then pick you up again," she said. "I swear on everything that it is true, and it is heartbreaking."
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Kelly Osbourne/Instagram
Osbourne revealed back in 2021 during an appearance on Red Table Talk that her struggles with addiction began when she was prescribed an opioid medication after undergoing surgery at age 13.
"I kept getting sick and I had a really bad case of tonsillitis, they ended up having to give me some crazy surgery, and then after that, they gave me Vicodin," she shared. "And that was all I needed."
The Fashion Police alum continued, "I went from having every voice in my head being like, 'You're fat, you're ugly, you're not good enough, no one likes you, you don't deserve this, people only like you because of who your parents are.' And then all of a sudden, every single voice was silenced and it felt like life gave me a hug."
From there, she said at the time, her addiction only grew worse. "I was like, 'Why am I so confident in all of this?' And then very quickly I went from Vicodin to Percocet, from Percocet to heroin eventually, because it was cheaper," she said.
At the time, Osbourne also shared with Extra how she relapsed after nearly 4 years of sobriety, admitting that she’s always learning how to be better. "This is something I am going to battle for the rest of my life," she said. "It's never going to be easy."
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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