Grammy-winning rapper and actress Eve has never shied away from being upfront, and her recent revelations show how far she has come. The 46-year-old hip-hop legend reflected on a turning point in her life, a DUI arrest back in 2007 that she said made her bring her dangerous downward spiral to a halt, which lasted far too long, she acknowledges.
In an interview on Paloma Faith's Mad, Sad & Bad podcast, Eve gave a frank account of the night that changed everything. She'd been arrested in Los Angeles for driving under the influence after crashing her luxury Maserati there nearly two decades ago. But while many may consider an incident such as this a fall from grace to Eve, it was a welcome wake-up call.
"I had to wear a tag," she said, referring to an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet she had been ordered to wear as part of her legal punishment. "It tracks your body temperature and it can determine by your sweat if you've had alcohol. The anklet restored my sanity because I couldn't recall a time I hadn't drank."
Eve's confession explains the reality of her struggles off-stage. Even while living the glamorous hip-hop lifestyle in that era, she was fighting demons she didn't know how to conquer yet.
I did not save myself from the drinking incident." But I was also drinking Xanax on top of the drinking," she confessed. "I was trying to be numb. I was also trying to get skinny for videos. So I got my DUI, not that drunk, I was on diet pills."
The disclosure is a sobering reminder of the pressure on artists in the music business, which often makes at least as much of a fuss over the image as over talent. Eve's frankness about taking prescription drugs and diet pills to stay thin for music videos is a far cry from the very confidence and strength she is known for today.
Eve realizes just how vital that problematic moment was in making her into the woman she is today. So, instead of being embarrassing, the ankle monitor became a healing mechanism. It compelled her to confront her drinking habits and set her on a path of self-awareness and, eventually, self-love.
"It was such a horrible time, and that's why I said wearing that little anklet definitely helped me," she reflected.
Now, years juniper of the replacing decades behind her, Eve lives opposite the chaos she has known. She has been married to entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper since 2014 and has established the stability and peace that once seemed impossible.
Eve's journey represents an incredible example of resilience. She proves that even through our deepest struggles, we can find the light sometimes in the most unexpected ways. And in her case, it took the form of an unlikely hero: a little ankle monitor that returned her sanity.
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