During her recent appearance as a guest on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the actress, 34, revealed for the first time her early memories of drinking and the problems it caused her

“The first time I ever had alcohol… I was probably 12, or 13? I was in Florida, on vacation… and we drank Green Apple Pucker,” Hale recalled. “I remember my very first experience with alcohol was the same as when it ended. I blacked out — at 12 years old. I don’t remember what happened, I threw up, I got very sick, and I remember being so distraught when I realized what had happened.” “I remember shame after every experience drinking, because my drinking was never normal,” Hale stated. “Literally every time I drank… it was very clear I was drinking to escape something, even at a young age.”

I remember shame after every experience drinking, because my drinking was never normal,” Hale stated. “Literally every time I drank… it was very clear I was drinking to escape something, even at a young age.”

Hale, however, said that she has been clean and sober for two years. She attributes her sobriety, at least partially, to contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic, which compelled her to stay at home, keep quiet, and stay away from many social events that would typically result in binge drinking. “Without having COVID, I might not have gotten sober — or committed to it,” Hale said.