LOVE AND SOBRIETY –
February 5, 2021 – When he tried to cash the check, the bank teller knew something was wrong. But instead of calling the police, she called Clark’s father, who rushed to the bank before his son could disappear back onto the streets. Two days later, after hitting what Clark describes as rock bottom, he was in treatment. Fast-forward 10 years and Clark, who turned 37 the week of this interview, is one of the most notable reality stars to address his sobriety on television as the most recent winner of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” He became engaged to “Bachelorette” Tayshia Adams in December on the 16th season of the dating show. Ever since he got clean, he has dedicated his life to helping others. In 2017, he co-founded the Release Recovery center, a full-service organization in New York that has more than 40 employees, and that recently launched a nonprofit foundation to help individuals struggling with addiction in underserved communities. He also sits on the board of the rehab center where he was a patient less than a decade ago. “In addition to meeting Tayshia, the biggest gift coming out of this is we’ve already been able to help a lot of people that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise,” Clark says, sharing that his DMs are overflowing every day with messages from people caught in the trap of substance abuse or from family members seeking care for their loved ones. “In some weird way, if me writing back gives someone more hope just by me weirdly being on television, I’ll do that all day.”
