Jerry O’Connell’s Journey to Quit Smoking
In a recent podcast with Sophia Bush, actor Jerry O’Connell shared his struggle with smoking and the drastic steps he took to quit. He revealed that his decision was largely influenced by his wife, Rebecca Romijn, who made a bold ultimatum.
O’Connell, 52, admitted, “I’ve been battling nicotine for decades.” He recounted having undergone hypnosis and mentioned that he hasn’t smoked in around 14 years. “My wife told me she wouldn’t touch me if I continued smoking. This went on for about two months. I initially thought she was joking, but after a couple of weeks, we had no physical contact at all,” he explained.
Realizing the gravity of the situation after three weeks without contact, he knew he had to take action, stating, “I tried to quit, but I just couldn’t manage it.” After several failed attempts to quit on his own, he sought out alternative methods.
He described contacting a friend who had successfully quit smoking. “She gave me the number of a woman who could help,” O’Connell recalled. He visited this hypnotherapist, bringing pictures of his family along. “I sat in her recliner, put on headphones, and listened to soothing music. She started counting, ‘10, 9, 8…’ and I fell asleep,” he said.
Initially skeptical, he reflected on the experience and thought it might have been a mistake. “When I woke up, I thought, ‘This is silly. I can’t believe I just paid that much.’ But then, when I got back to my car and tried to light a cigarette, I found I couldn’t do it.”
O’Connell and Romijn met in 2004 and got engaged the following year. They married in July 2008 and have twin daughters, Dolly and Charlie, who are now 17. Before his relationship with Romijn, she had been married to actor John Stamos, who had notably negative things to say about her in his memoir.
Reflecting on potential media fallout from Stamos’ comments, O’Connell mentioned, “People often ask me about it, but I try to avoid dragging my family into it. There are kids involved, and anything along those lines can create unnecessary drama.” He emphasized wanting to protect their children from the spotlight that such discussions could generate.
