The Hunger Games' Alexander Ludwig Celebrates 5 Years of Sobriety in Moving Self-Love Message

Alexander Ludwig just reached a major milestone. 

The Hunger Games alum recently reflected on an anniversary that holds quite a lot of meaning—sharing that in addition to marking the day he and his wife Lauren started dating three years ago, he's celebrating five years of sobriety.

"So I'm sitting here today in Austin, Texas," Ludwig said in an April 23 TikTok video. "My mom and my wife are inside right now, and we're celebrating two things: One is my five years of sobriety birthday, and the other is, on this same day three years ago, the day I went on my first date with my wife, which I think is pretty serendipitous."

He then looked back at his journey.

"It's pretty crazy to me that five years ago to the day I was so lost, so confused and so scared about where my life would go," the Vikings star continued. "All I knew was that I had an issue and a problem that needed to be fixed. I've lost a lot of friends to this disease. So many people didn't make it. And I don't really know why because there are so many reasons why that should've been me and not them."

By sharing his story, Ludwig hopes to help anyone struggling to get sober.

"I don't want to make this video as like a congratulatory to myself," he added.  "It's really just for anybody who needs to see this. If you're struggling, be brave enough to ask for help. And take it from me, there really is hope at the end of the road. There really is light at the end of the tunnel."

The Heels actor also shared a message on self-love.

"It's actually staggering to me how much has changed in my life since I got out until now," he noted. "It's amazing what can happen when you decided to love yourself and commit to loving yourself and growing every day as a human being as opposed to satiating these impulses we all have."

 

At the end of the video, Ludwig recited a poem he wrote when he was in rehab and reminded anyone struggling to "hang in there." His family is proud of his sobriety too. After his mom Sharlene sent a "huge congrats" to her son on Instagram, Ludwig expressed his appreciation for her support.

"This is what sobriety is all about. Love you mom," the 30-year-old—who is expecting a baby girl with wife Lauren—wrote on Instagram Stories. "I feel so blessed to be one of the ones to live to tell my story. To everyone struggling—there is hope. Never give up and be brave enough to ask for help."  

Ludwig has spoken about his battle with alcohol before. In a 2019 video for the "Bite the Bullet" series, he recalled how he had his first alcoholic beverage when he was 14 and struggled with drinking for years.

"Essentially it got so bad, especially in college at the time when The Hunger Games had come out and I was on the top of the world, and it started to become really destructive," the country music singer said in the video. "My substance abuse was at an all-time high, and I didn't quite realize that what I was doing wasn't normal. It wasn't until I got sober that I realized that the way I went out wasn't the way everyone else was."

However, he noted going to rehab was the "best decision" he's ever made.

"I just feel like I'm operating on such a clearer, higher level than I ever possibly could have," Ludwig shared about being sober, "and every aspect of my life is flourishing because of it."

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