Paris Jackson has bravely opened up about her battles with addiction, revealing that she has now been sober for five years.
The singer, 26, is the second child of the late Michael Jackson, who also had sons Prince, 27, and Bigi ‘Blanket’ Jackson, 21.
The children lost their father in 2009 after the music icon died of a cardiac arrest due to an overdose of prescription drugs.
Now, Paris has bravely spoken out about her own struggles with addiction, as she marked five years sober from heroin and alcohol.
Paris took to Instagram to share a video montage of her when she was battling addiction, which then transitioned into snaps of her AA and NA tokens marking increasing amounts of time sober.
The video then showed a new, joyful side of Paris on the other side of the battle, as she opened up about the past five years in the caption.
She wrote: “hi, i’m pk and i’m an alcoholic and a heroin addict.
“Today marks 5 years clean & sober from all drugs and alcohol. to say that i’m thankful would be a poor euphemism. gratitude hardly scratches the surface.
“It’s because i’m sober that i get to smile today. i get to make music. i get to experience the joy of loving my dogs and cat. i get to feel heartbreak in all it’s glory. i get to grieve. i get to laugh. i get to dance. i get to trust. i feel the sun on my skin and it’s warm.
“I’ve found that life keeps happening regardless of whether i’m sober or not, but today i get to show up for it.”
Paris added: “Here’s a little snapshot of what has been possible because of my sobriety, and my god i can’t believe i almost missed it all. thanks 1 • 7 • 20.”
She gave fans a snapshot of all the amazing experiences she’d been fully present for in the past five years, including having fun with friends, meeting a baby bat, walking the red carpet at a Christian Louboutin event during Paris Fashion Week in 2023, rock climbing, and joyful moments with her fiancé, music producer Justin Long.
Paris ended the video by telling her followers: “To those that helped me on this journey, if only for just the beginning, middle, or the whole time so far, you know who you are and i owe you my life. thank you. 5 years. THANK GOD.”
Her post was flooded with well-wishes, with Paris Hilton writing: “So proud of you sis.”
The late Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow added: “Incredible P, you’re such a light,” while Cara Delevingne commented: “I love you! So proud of you x”.
As well as opening up about addiction, Paris had previously revealed to Rolling Stone in 2017 that some of her many tattoos covered past scars from self-harm and track marks from drug use.
She revealed that she’d tried to take her own life in 2013 at the age of 15, explaining: “It was just self-hatred, low self-esteem, thinking that I couldn’t do anything right, not thinking I was worthy of living anymore.”
The singer added: “I was crazy. I was actually crazy. I was going through a lot of, like teen, angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help.”
