Rob Lowe’s youngest son, John Owen, is the spitting image of his father, but that's not all the duo share; the actors opened up about their past struggles with sobriety as they prepare for the release of the second season of their show, Unstable.
Speaking to Extra ahead of the show’s release, John Owen revealed that following his father’s example on his sobriety journey formed a strong bond between them.
“[Sobriety is] the most important part of my personal life, and I learned how to do that from him. I think that’s probably one of the main things we’ve connected on as father and son,” he said in the interview.
Rob’s journey gave his son hope for his own future; he told Extra, “I think the example being the most important thing, when you’re a young person struggling, is to see someone who’s close to you, who walked through it and came out on the other side, gives you the idea that you can do it, too.”
While John Owen has been sober for seven years now, Rob went to rehab in 1990 at the age of 25 and has been sober ever since. He told Variety in 2021 how his drinking habits began at the tender age of 13, and rocketing to fame as part of the 80s Brat Pack only sped up his addiction.
“The only way to stay in recovery is to be honest with yourself on a minute-by-minute basis. No secrets, no double life. And you have to get real,” he told the publication.
“Nothing can make you get sober except you wanting to do it,” he explained. “The threat of losing a marriage, losing a job, incarceration – you name the threat, it will not be enough to do it.”
He continued, “It’s got to be in you. The reason that people don’t get sober 100% of the time when they go into programs is that people aren’t ready when they go to use the tools.”
Rob’s experience with alcoholism led him to adopt a different parenting style while John Owen was in the throes of his addiction; he explained that it was essential to give his son space at the time to avoid losing him for good.
“Give them the boundaries so they don’t kill themselves or do anything really, really, really, really, really stupid,” The Outsiders actor said.
“The notion that anybody is going to stop because you want them to…it doesn’t work; they have to want it on their own.”
John Owen told Men’s Health in 2023 that he struggled throughout his teens with alcohol addiction and wanted to feel “numb”.
“Many times, I could have died. I really liked to push the limits of my body and numb out as much as I could,” the 28-year-old said in the interview.
“It makes me sad to think about. There’s a certain level of self-doubt or uncomfortability with one’s self. The more insecure I grew, the more aggressively I used – to medicate. I’ve been to many hospitals many times.”
The turning point for John Owen was when his parents revealed that they feared for their son’s life; he went to rehab and has been sober for over seven years now.
The father and son are currently starring on Netflix’s Unstable together, which they also co-created and executive produced.
According to Deadline, the show follows “an introverted son [John Owen Lowe] who goes to work for his very successful, wildly eccentric father [Rob Lowe] in order to save him and his successful biotech company from disaster.”