‘Game of Thrones’ star Rose Leslie has spoken out candidly about her husband Kit Harington’s journey towards achieving sobriety, saying that his alcohol addiction is something the actor needs to combat on his own.
In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, the actress shared details about her famous husband’s journey towards healing. “For Kit, being an addict, it’s very important for him to recognise himself as such,” she explained, adding: “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 further revealed that Harington was now “several years into his sobriety” and was “doing well.” In 2019, the ‘Modern Love’ star had checked himself into a wellness retreat to tackle his addiction.
“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. 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 behaviour is on him. It’s not on me to guard him from it,” Leslie further added.
The couple, who share a 14-month-old baby boy, are currently in the UK and plan to move to their new home in Suffolk after Harington finishes his performances of Henry V at Donmar Warehouse in London. “We’re going to make a home, try to make friends. We’re just going to use our son!” Leslie added.
In the past, Harington has also spoken about his battle with alcohol addition, speaking candidly in 2021 with The Sunday Times that he “went through some pretty horrible stuff” following the finale of ‘Game of Thrones’.
“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 explained. “One of my favourite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots. I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”
Leslie and Harington famously met on the sets of ‘Game of Thrones’ and were married a few years later.
