Cheers legend Ted Danson recently opened up about hitting rock bottom, admitting, “I had f–ed up my life so much.”
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On a recent episode of his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Danson pulled back the curtain on just how messy life got once Sam Malone hung up his bar rag for good.
“People say, ‘What was it like? What did you do when she was over?’ I said, ‘I had f–ed up my life so much that I didn’t even realize Cheers was over,’” the 78-year-old told guest, The Dink star Jake Johnson.
Danson admitted he “barely knew myself” and had to grow up fast during his final year on the hit show, which ran from 1982 to 1993.
The Three Men and a Baby star recalled driving to Long Beach to see his mentor, describing him as “amazing” and crediting him with offering “a whole different kind of therapy, spirituality kind of thing.” It was there that Danson found a new sense of direction. “I wanted to stop being a liar,” he said. “I wanted to be emotionally mature; I wanted to change.”
Ted Danson on ‘Cheers’ Ending: ‘Might as Well Jump Completely off the Cliff’
Danson starred in all 11 seasons of the hit sitcom as Sam Malone, a Red Sox pitcher turned bartender and heartthrob, alongside Kelsey Grammer, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Woody Harrelson, and Rhea Perlman. He was also one of the few cast members to appear in all 273 episodes.
Danson was going through a divorce from his second wife, Cassandra Coates, at the time. When he decided to move on to other projects, producers chose to end Cheers, feeling the show couldn’t continue without him.
“I was changing for the better and working really hard at that, so I thought, ‘Might as well jump completely off the cliff,’” he recalled in a 2025 episode of his podcast. “And [there was] a little bit of … ‘If I don’t leave now, I may not know if I could do anything else, and I want to see if I can do any other stuff.’”
Danson found his footing, going on to appear in Becker, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Good Place. He’s currently the lead in the Netflix series Man on the Inside.
Sounds like Ted Danson ordered himself a tall glass of self-reflection and drank every last drop. Cheers to that…