The couple met at a Halloween party while John Goodman was shooting 'Everybody's All-American.'
Addiction is a disease, and it can be treated. It is neither easy for a person dealing with addiction nor is it any less difficult for their loved ones. The best thing one can do to manage and overcome addiction is to seek help. For actor John Goodman that was exactly the case. He struggled with weight and drinking and a few years ago, he spoke about what being married through that was like. He met his wife Annabeth Hartzog at a Halloween party, as per ELLE. "Yeah, at Tipitina's [music club]. I was shooting Everybody's All-American. I went to this Halloween party, and she walked up to me and said, 'Hi.' I couldn't figure out why anyone that pretty was talking to me." The couple got married in 1989 and had a child named Molly Evangeline Goodman.
When asked for the secret to his marriage, he said, "Working away from home a great deal of the time." In an interview with ABC News, he also opened up about struggling with weight his whole life. "In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds, and then reward myself with a six-pack or whatever and just go back to my old habits," he shared. In 2010, the actor was about 400 pounds when his family started imploring him to lose weight. He joked it was because he was breaking all the furniture. "I was just shoving everything into my mouth,” the actor said in an interview. "But I don’t want to be an example to anybody when the weight comes thundering back on — when I start eating Crisco out of the can with a spoon and a side of confectioner’s sugar."
To cut back on the weight meant that he had to cut back on drinking. The actor was supposed to accept an Emmy for his guest appearance in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in 2007. "I had to go accept an Emmy award," he said. "So I missed the rehearsal because I was drunk. And then by the time Sunday morning rolled around I was shaking." He added, "I was still drinking, but I was still shaking. I had the clarity of thought that I needed to be hospitalized." This is when his wife did everything she could to get him help and ensure he could start his sobriety journey. "I called my wife, which was like turning myself into the Gestapo. And she made some phone calls; we got me into a treatment center, and I detoxed there and decided I liked the feeling. And it’s been (14) years."
Goodman has been sober since 2007 and has been enjoying his life. Goodman lost over 100 pounds by 2016. He even stars in The Conners which is a spinoff of the show Roseanne starring most of the cast except Roseanne herself. He admits how he keeps himself motivated to keep the weight off. "I just got tired, sick, and tired of looking at myself," he said. "You’re shaving in the mirror and you don’t want to look at yourself. It gets dangerous." He also explained how being sober made his life better. "Everything is better, clearer. I used to love to go out and drink and have fun. But when I got famous, it became more of a shield, and things kind of disintegrated rapidly. There's a lot less regret now and a lot less to be regretful of," he explained.
References:
https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a2470/how-to-stay-married-613173/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Kirstin Sinclair
