Home and Away star Emily Weir reveals the terrifying ‘epiphany’ which forced her to give up alcohol

Home and Away actress Emily Weir has discussed the ‘epiphany’ which forced her to give up her alcohol addiction. 

The 29-year-old, who revealed last week that she has been sober for two years, explained that she had a dream where she was an ‘older, grey-haired woman living by herself who had a true [red wine] blood mouth’.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the actress said: ‘The thought was that if I kept going the way I was, that could be my life. Alcohol for me was my poison’. 

Emily, who plays resident beach babe Mackenzie Booth on Seven’s Home and Away, added: ‘I was festering a lot of pain that I didn’t realise and so I would become quite negative when I drank.’

The TV star gave further insight into her battle with the bottle during an interview with former My Kitchen Rules star Romel Kouyan for his Instagram TV channel. 

She explained how alcohol ‘became a hindrance’ and ‘didn’t mesh well’ with who she was as a person. 

Emily admitted that while she gave alcohol ‘a good run for its money’ in her early twenties, essentially, it just doesn’t work for her.

‘It just doesn’t mesh well with who I am or what I was about,’ she told Romel. ‘I did get to a point of drinking a lot, partying too much… it became more [of] a hindrance than anything else.’

One week turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. 

‘It’s crazy looking back. To have made that decision, especially when it’s embedded in not just our culture, but in the industry,’ she said upon reflection.

‘[But] I’m so much better off without it. It didn’t work for me mentally, it was something that was holding me back,’ Emily continued.

The soap star said the future appeared suddenly brighter and doors began to open, once she decided to quit and seek help through Alcohol Anonymous meetings.

‘No looking back, no regrets,’ she concluded.   

Emily landed her breakthrough role as restaurateur Mackenzie on Home and Away last year.

Prior to that, she appeared in TV series The Sleepover Club in 2003. 

Emily described her casting on Home and Away as like a dream come true in an interview with Stuff New Zealand last year.

‘It was like winning the Lotto for myself and for all my extended family members,’ she said. 

‘My family still watches Home and Away. They call it Homie. When Homie is on … everything just shuts down. You are not allowed to make calls or anything.’ 

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