Rob Lowe Recalls The Moment He Hit Bottom

ON A NATURAL HIGH –

Jan. 19, 2022 -Up until I turned 26, I spent all my time investing in my career,” the 57-year-old shared. “From 26 on, I’ve invested in me; my spirituality, my recovery, my marriage, my family. A lot of it has been, excuse me, f—ing hard. And no one has a perfect life… but I’m grateful for all of it.”

Lowe made his film debut in 1983’s “The Outsiders.” The coming-of-age drama, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, also starred Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise and Matt Dillon. His further skyrocketed to fame with 1985’s “St. Elmo’s Fire,” the Brat Pack flick that starred Demi Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson. “I became so identified with it — the wild, fun, rock and roll, quasi-debauched with the heart of gold [guy]: that’s my early twenties in a nutshell,” Lowe admitted.

Lowe said stars like Keith Richards, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty were his role models. But when he saw his idol Beatty in one particular movie, Lowe realized he had to turn his life around.

“I remember watching ‘Shampoo’ and when I saw Warren left alone and broken at the end, I absolutely felt like, ‘Oh, this is how my life will play out if I don’t figure it out,’” he recalled. “It would be many years until I did, but that was always my fear, that I would end up alone. Intimacy and I were not very well acquainted until very late in my life.”

Lowe said rock bottom came in 1990 when he was 26. After a night of partying, Lowe returned home and discovered his mother was leaving a message on his answering machine. She pleaded for Lowe to pick up. His grandfather had a heart attack.

Lowe didn’t pick up the phone.