Rose Leslie on Kit Harington’s sobriety: ‘The responsibility of his behavior is on him’
"Game of Thrones" star Rose Leslie is sharing how she approaches husband and former co-star Kit Harington's history of substance use.
“For Kit, being an addict, it’s very important for him to recognize himself as such,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK.
“The AA community has provided such a loving space for him to feel heard, to make sure he’s not alone. But if it weren’t for rehab, he would be in a very different headspace right now.”
Leslie and Harington married in 2018 and welcomed a baby boy in 2021. He checked into a wellness retreat in 2019 “to work on some personal issues,” according to his representative.
Leslie, who rocketed to fame starring in “Downton Abbey” and alongside Harington in “Game of Thrones,” said she “is doing well” when it comes to her husband’s addiction, while adding they are “several years into his sobriety.”
She also said she has grown to understand addiction through Al-Anon, the support group for friends and family of alcoholics, but noted that Harington needs to be fully invested in dealing with his drinking.
“I’ve learnt a lot about addiction, and it’s something Kit is forever going to be aware of, but it’s on him whether he chooses to drink again,” she said.
“No amount of nannying is going to be able to stop him from doing what he decides to do. ... I don’t choose to put that pressure on myself. The responsibility of his behavior is on him. It’s not on me to guard him from it.”
Harington previously opened up about his addiction in August to UK paper The Sunday Times, saying he went through "some pretty horrible stuff" after he finished filming "Game of Thrones."
“Things that have happened to me since 'Thrones' ended, and that were happening during 'Thrones,' were of a pretty traumatic nature and they did include alcohol," he recalled.
“You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person. And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are. And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change,’" he added.
