chrissy teigen credits Carl Radke with lighting a fire in her to get sober after she went back to drinking.
“I’m grateful to @carlradke. Not only for all the years he’s blessed us with at Bravo, but for his honesty and openness all around. his own journey with sobriety,” Teigen, 40, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, January 27, applauding the Summer House star, 41, to discuss his sobriety with her on a recent episode of her “self aware” podcast.
Teigen explained that she’s had her “own” ups and downs with sobriety, noting that after being “sober for a little over a year” she “went back to drinking.” (Teigen first cut out booze in 2017 and recommitted to being sober in 2020. She shared May 2025 that had fallen off the wagon.)
“I promised myself it would be in a ‘conscious’ way. I wanted to be able to have a glass of wine on a date night with my husband. To be able to toast birthdays. How lucky I am to have the life I have, I want to enjoy it!” the wishes cookbook author he recalled his decision to add alcohol back into his life. “And I think that was my first problem. tying up drinking as a reward or as a kind of prize in life. It soon became the kind of drinking I’m all too familiar with.”
Teigen revealed that she started having “quiet moments at home” that “were for wine” and that her drinking time was getting earlier and earlier.
“The time went from 6 o’clock, to 5 o’clock, to 4 o’clock, hell, it’s lunch, why not. When they got to 11 o’clock in the morning, I was like, ‘Oh shit, here we go again,'” he confessed.
Teigen explained that because she’s a “whole mom,” she is not the drinking type who would “spoil your words and miss a step on the stairs.” Instead, he was “calm and coherent.”
Chrissy Teigen, Carl Radke.
Courtesy of Chrissy Teigen/InstagramAlthough Teigen said she “missed” being able to get in the car to get groceries amid her drinking problem, it wasn’t until she spoke with Carl for the Jan. 15 episode of his podcast that a light bulb went off.
“Within the same week of talking to Carl, I stopped drinking again,” she shared. “He had been in talks for Search for stars and I knew that if I was given the incredible opportunity to be on the show, there was absolutely no fucking way I was going to do it with alcohol. my dressing room.”
Teigen noted that the “biggest difference” between her sober journey now and when she first cut out alcohol is “there’s no pomp around it.”
In his new book, Cake Eater, Carl Radke fills in some blanks for Summer House fans about his battle with substance abuse and beyond. The 40-year-old reality star’s memoir, published on Tuesday, December 30, details how he got sober after years of partying on and off screen. He reveals that he tried cocaine for the first time (…)
“The first time I set foot, it was EXCITING. The momentum was fun and kept me on track,” he reflected. “The second time… I don’t know. I don’t know if everyone around you loses faith or you yourself, or a mixture of both. Or maybe no one wants to get too excited.”
Despite knowing it would be difficult to get back on track, Teigen said she’s now 52 days sober with “no desire to go back.”
After talking to Radke, who announced his sobriety in 2021 after her brother died of an overdose, she realized she could “still be funny” and “stupid” and have a life that wasn’t tied to drinking.
Teigen said she can “still be really nervous. Anxious as a motherfucker. And I can get through it all without it.”
He concluded, “I love you guys. Thanks for listening!! Enjoy our chat, because it changed my life. No big deal.”
Radke was very grateful for Teigen’s kind words, writing in the comments section: “Thank you Chrissy. Your honesty and openness is inspiring and you are helping SO many people. Honored to have me on the podcast! We are in this together. Keep it up!”
Radke, who opened a non-alcoholic bar in New York in September 2025, has been open about his struggles for years, especially on camera during Summer House.
Carl Radke has been candid about the ups and downs of his sobriety, much of which was captured in Summer House. The Pittsburgh native has been on the Bravo hit since it premiered in 2017. After four seasons of drinking with his co-stars, he got sober in the spring of 2020. Radke started drinking again, but (…)
In his Jan. 15 podcast appearance, Radke told Teigen that he hit rock bottom “a few” times, but was celebrating five years sober that month.
He told Li that sharing a story of sobriety publicly is “contagious” and has helped him grow and stay on track.
“I honestly love you and how you talk about sobriety,” Teigen said, reliving some of her rockiest times, like ripping a microwave off the wall when she was coming off Adderall.
Radke suggested that Teigen start her own “hot walk” club and get out and about in the sun to improve her health.
“Applause everything you’re doing,” Radke said on the podcast. Teigen concluded by thanking him for his own honesty.