Celebrity

Jason Ritter Felt Like He Didn't "Deserve" Melanie Lynskey As He Was Battling Alcoholism

“I knew how amazing she was, and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her.”

Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey are one of those amazing Hollywood couples who just seem perfect for each other. When you look at them you can’t help but think yes, that is exactly right. We can all agree they are a great fit, but because of his own battles with alcoholism, it took some time for Jason Ritter to realize this. Not because he didn’t see his future wife as a wonderful person, as he explained in an emotional interview on The Drew Barrymore Show. He struggled to believe he deserved to be with her.

The couple, who have been married since 2018 and share a 4-year-old daughter, sat down to chat with Drew Barrymore about the moment they each knew the other was “the one” for them. For Lynskey it was all about her dog. They had been running into each other over the years at different events (although Ritter kept forgetting who she was) when they eventually starred in a movie together and started dating. At the time, Lynskey had an older dog whose health was failing, and Ritter got up with her dog through the night. “I think it was at that point that I was like, ‘I could have a child with this man,’” Lynskey shared.

Things were different for Ritter, who suddenly lost his dad, actor John Ritter, in 2003 when the Three’s Company star was just 55 years old. “I knew how incredible Melanie was early on, but it’s not as cute of a story as you would like to think. It was messy and interesting and weird,” he explained to Barrymore. “But mixed in the mix... I was dealing with some alcoholism issues.”

“At a point I knew how amazing she was, and I thought she would be incredible for someone who deserved her, basically,” Ritter said, holding back tears. “I didn’t feel like I was that person.”

Ritter went on to explain that it “was only a maybe year into not drinking where I started to go ‘Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person.’ It’s been like a slow burn.”

“I knew that she was incredible,” Ritter continued. “It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I could be the one for her too.”

Lynskey, and presumably the rest of the audience, was in tears after Ritter’s admission. “He worked so hard, I’m so proud of him,” she said of her husband. After the interview aired, Ritter tweeted a shout-out to his wife thanking her “for having me in the first place.”

For her part, Lynskey tweeted, “So proud of my husband and of Drew for their vulnerability and openness here. These are two of the kindest, strongest, best people I know.”

As for Barrymore, she explained that she understood all too well where Ritter was coming from. The mom of two has been open about staying single while not having a drink in four years, adding in their conversation that “the narrative I create is that I can’t be with someone.”

Jason Ritter’s moment of vulnerability will hopefully help someone else going through a similar situation. Because he clearly found his person. And she found him.