As Hollywood’s ultimate wild child, Drew Barrymore’s younger years are well documented. She was infamously thrust into the spotlight at the age of seven, began drinking aged nine, regularly attended Studio 54 nightclub in her pre-teens, and had already been to rehab by the age of 13. As for the years that followed, they were equally marked by chaos and rebellion – including a legal emancipation from her parents, short-lived marriages and divorces, and alcohol and drug addictions. So, with so much known and said about the actress’ former hellraising ways – before she totally turned her life around and reemerged as one of showbiz’s most wholesome figures – we thought we knew all we could about the life and times of Ms Barrymore.
But according to Drew, there are always more stories to tell – and the 50 year old revealed a juicy one last week on her eponymous talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show. Welcoming her ex-boyfriend, Luke Wilson, to the stage, the two got reminiscing in front of the live audience, and ended up detailing the night they had a serious brush with the law at a Beck concert, after nature came calling.
'I just thought of a memory that wasn’t funny at the time,' Drew began – to which Luke knowingly replied, 'Beck.'
Drew then confessed, 'I got stopped for public urination! And there I was, like, peeking out of the bushes, like "Hi!"' The former couple then explained how the incident, which happened in the late 90s, had led to them both being 'risked' by the police and briefly 'detained' – before they were finally 'let go with a warning'. And after all that, they were still free in time to see Beck perform.
'We were like, "Alright, let’s go!"' Drew explained.
It may not have been quite so funny at the time, but the pair – who dated between 1996 and 1998 – can thankfully laugh about it now, three decades later. Which is unsurprising, considering the actress-turned-talk show host has a neverending well of hellraising stories to share from her wild days gone by, even after publishing two memoirs.
After starring in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at seven, Drew infamously grew up well ahead of her time. Her sudden road to stardom led her down a troubled path, filled with heavy drinking and drug-taking, and partying with people decades older than her, while her home life was equally fractured and messy – with an alcoholic father, and a mother who would take her daughter to nightclubs and 'wasn’t prepared' for motherhood.
Drew successfully petitioned for emancipation aged 15 and began living by herself, but her wild reputation only grew, with further visits to rehab, a controversial appearance in Playboy, and tempestuous relationships in the public eye. She was just 19 when she married her first husband, a then 31-year-old bar owner named Jeremy Thomas, but they divorced after just 19 days of marriage. She then had a number of other high-profile romances with famous faces including Legally Blonde star Luke, Hole musician Eric Erlandson, and comedian Tom Green – whom she married in July 2001, and divorced that December.
Still, her most wild child-defining moment, by all accounts, remains the time in 1995 that she appeared as a guest on the David Letterman Show in 1995, and ended up flashing the talk show host.
Remembering the stunt five years ago, which involved her jumping onto his desk, dancing sexily for him and lifting up her top, Drew reflected, 'I think if there’s one thing I’ve learned in a very long life in front of people is there is a line. There is TMI. And I kind of know what that line is, and it’s a feeling. I pushed the limits a lot, many different times in my life, and I’m very lucky, I know that. I tested, I pushed, probably too far many a time.'
Since her wild days in the 90s and early 00s, Drew has clearly and demonstrably turned her life around. She’s proven herself as a director and producer, as well as an actress, with starring roles in Charlie’s Angels, Never Been Kissed, He’s Just Not That Into You, and 50 First Dates, and – in the past few years – has totally reinvented herself as a talk show host. She’s also a devoted mother of two daughters, Olive, 12, and Frankie, 10, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Will Kopelman. The former couple got divorced in 2016 after four years of marriage, and though Drew has since said the split was 'painful', she’s also celebrated their co-parenting relationship in the aftermath, saying, 'It’s very positive. You’re never not together if you have children.'
She’s since joked about her non-eventful love life ever since, telling her TikTok fans at the end of last year, 'Last December I was single. This December I’m still single. Hope that helps!' Still, she’s said she’s open to dating again, and has even been active on Raya, but has resolutely confirmed she will not be walking down the aisle again in the future, revealing in 2020, 'I will never, with a capital N-E-V-E-R, never get married.'
As for mum life, she keeps her daughters largely out of the public eye – ensuring they’re not exposed to the same excesses and craziness that defined her own younger years. Still, just as her visit down memory lane with Luke last week proved, she’s not afraid to recollect her former wild moments, with equal parts humour and nostalgia.
'I'm glad I partied,' Drew said last year. 'I’m glad I was wild with boys. I’m glad I was wild in every way, shape and form because it led to my contentedness with a quiet life now. And it was fun. I’m not apologetic. I’m not mad at myself about it.'
We’re not mad at you either, Drew. Especially when you keep serving up such entertaining stories from public-urinating adventures gone by.