Jason Ritter didn’t think he “deserved” his now-wife, Melanie Lynskey, at the beginning of their relationship due to his battle with alcoholism.
The 43-year-old revealed on Wednesday’s episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show” that, despite knowing how “incredible” Lynskey was “early on,” it took him a while to realize she was “the one.”
“It’s not as cute of a story as you would like to think,” the “Parenthood” alum said. “It was messy and interesting and weird. But mixed in [with] the mix was I was dealing with some alcoholism issues.”
“At a point, I knew how amazing she was and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her, basically,” Ritter continued while holding back tears. “And I didn’t feel like I was that person. I felt a little bit too crazy.”
The actor ended up giving up alcohol the same year that he met the “Yellowjackets” actress, but he waited to make sure it stuck before getting too serious with her.
“It was only after maybe a year into not drinking where I started to go, ‘Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person,’” he said, blinking back tears.
“I knew that she was incredible. It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I could be the one for her too.”
Lynskey, who also got emotional, noted that her husband “worked so hard.”
The emotional story caught Barrymore, 48, by surprise and prompted her to open up about her own struggles with alcohol.
“I haven’t had a drink in almost four years,” the “50 First Dates” star said, noting that alcohol was her “poison.”
Ritter’s story struck a chord with Barrymore, who says she often feels the same way when it comes to dating.
“The narrative that one creates is that, ‘I can’t be with someone.’ And I haven’t been in a relationship since I stopped drinking, and I’m really looking forward to one day not having that bad girl narrative, the instability, the ‘I’m not someone who’s right to be with anyone for their sake’ [feeling].”
Ritter and Lynskey, 45, tied the knot in 2020 and welcomed their first child one year prior.
Since then, the pair have become the internet’s “couple goals” with Ritter most recently shutting down trolls for body-shaming his bride.
After Lynskey called out critics for commenting on her weight, Ritter urged the haters to “swan dive” into the sun.
“If anyone has any further unsolicited comments about *anybody* else’s body, they can feel free to write them in permanent ink onto their own foreheads and swan dive directly into the sun,” Ritter tweeted last year.
