Pain Meds Led Melanie to Rehab: Banderas

After six years sober, ski accident brought back demons
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 9, 2009 11:58 AM CDT
Pain Meds Led Melanie to Rehab: Banderas
Spanish actor Antonio Banderas and his wife Melanie Griffith smile for photographers during the opening night of the Middle East International Film Festival at a hotel in Abu Dhabi UAE, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Manuel Salazar)

Melanie Griffith checked herself into rehab this spring after pain meds from a skiing accident left her feeling "weak" in her determination to stay sober, says husband Antonio Banderas on today's Ellen DeGeneres Show, squashing rumors that he told his wife it was rehab or divorce. Banderas says he and Griffith had always been open about her longtime battle with addiction, and that she'd been sober for six years until recently, People reports.

"We always came out," he continues. "We said it out loud. It was okay, we were never embarrassed of the situation." Three knee operations after a ski accident in Aspen required Griffith to use narcotics, and now "the whole entire family is supporting her, and I am supporting her, and at this particular time more than ever. I'm very proud of her," Banderas said, also offering advice for families of addicts: "Don't get embarrassed, just confront this problem head-on."
(More Melanie Griffith stories.)

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