Dean McDermott believes sobriety made him a better parent
Dean McDermott thinks sobriety has made him a better parent and he's trying to repair "some damage" in his relationship with his kids.
Dean McDermott thinks sobriety has made him a better parent.
The 59-year-old reality star - who has Jack, 28, with former spouse Mary Jo Eustace and Liam, 19, Stella, 18, Hattie, 15, Finn, 14, and Beau, nine, with ex-wife Tori Spelling - celebrated three years sober back in June and he couldn't be happier with his life now.
He told Us Weekly magazine: “I’m feeling incredible in this chapter of my life. I’m happy.
“I found true happiness within, as well as all the external things in my life: my children, my girlfriend [Lily Calo], my job, my life. I love my life today, and I owe it all to recovery.”
Dean had reached a point where it was "really time to change", and developing coping skills, spiritual principles and better emotional regulation has given him "self-love" which he's been able to pass on to his children after previously causing them "some damage".
He added: "I get to make amends and repair that.
“It is fair to say that being in recovery has made me a more present parent."
Dean insisted he isn't a "perfect" parent and developing more patience has been particularly challenging for him, but he's happy to put in the work to strengthen his relationship with his kids.
He said: "Patience was a hard one because when you get clean and sober, you get your feelings back, and they’re multiplied 100 times over. … I really, really had to learn patience, and that’s something the program taught me. And it’s getting better.
"It’s not perfect, but it’s something I continue to work on, and will work on every day for the rest of my life.
"But my relationship with my children is getting stronger. It’s getting better. We’re starting to heal. A lot of work to do, but you know we’re doing it.”
Dean also expressed his gratitude for girlfriend Lily Calo, who he hailed as his "biggest supporter".
He said: “She accepts me as I am, warts and all, as flawed as I am. I don’t know how to put this. She believes in me more than I believe in myself.
“She’s a great champion for me. She encourages me. She’s my biggest supporter.”
Lily added: "I’m just so proud of him. I’m proud of the growth that I’ve seen over this amount of time. His sobriety, how hard he works. Not only at that and his recovery, but how hard he works in his day-to-day life to be able to rebuild and repair those relationships he was talking about. It’s just such an admirable journey.”
