Natasha Lyonne has urged fans to find strength and “stay honest” after taking to social media to share that she had relapsed after a decade of sobriety.
On Friday (January 23), the Russian Doll actor, who struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol throughout the 2000s, wrote simply: “Took my relapse public, more to come.”
In a follow-up post shared hours later, she shared a hopeful message reflecting on the challenges of long-term recovery, which she described as a “lifelong process”.
“Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone,” Lyonne wrote. “Grateful for love & smart feet. Gonna do it for baby Bambo. Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets. If no one told ya today, I love you.
“No matter how far down the scales we have gone, we will see how our experience may help another. Keep going, kiddos. Don’t quit before the miracle. Wallpaper your mind with love. Rest is all noise & baloney.”
Recovery is a lifelong process. Anyone out there struggling, remember you’re not alone. Grateful for love & smart feet. Gonna do it for baby Bambo. 🎥❤️🥊 Stay honest, folks. Sick as our secrets. If no one told ya today, I love you. No matter how far down the scales we have gone,…
— natasha lyonne (@nlyonne) January 24, 2026
“Baby Bambo” is a reference to Lyonne’s upcoming feature about a New York boxing promoter who struggles to balance his duties as a father with his career. Lyonne serves as writer and director for the film, titled Bambo.
Her post has drawn praise from fans for its frankness and honesty, and in a response to a fan thanking her for being open, Lyonne wrote: “We need better systems and to end shame – bill the sacklers & stilettos or something but don’t @ me for getting honest.”
Lyonne briefly discussed her addiction in a 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Variety), saying at the time she was “wary” about publicly acknowledging her substance abuse problem.
That year, Lyonne got sober after suffering a series of major health complications as a result of her previous drug use, and she underwent open-heart surgery to correct damage left behind by a serious heart infection.
“It’s weird to talk about. I was definitely as good as dead, you know? A lot of people don’t come back,” Lyonne said. “That makes me feel wary, and self-conscious. I wouldn’t want to feel prideful about it. People really rallied around me and pulled me up by my fucking bootstraps.”