Jason Ritter Didn’t Think He “Deserved” Wife Melanie Lynskey Early in Their Relationship Due to Alcoholism

Jason Ritter didn’t hold back when discussing how his relationship with alcohol impacted his relationship with his now-wife, Melanie Lynskey, in their early days of dating. During a joint appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Ritter sat alongside Lynksey, who he married in 2020 after several years together, while opening up about his experience with alcoholism.

When prompted by Barrymore to describe the moment he “knew [Lynksky was the one,” Ritter said, “I knew how incredible Melanie was early on.”

The actor quickly added, “It's not as cute of a story as you would like to think. It was messy and interesting and weird. 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 continued, tearing up as Lynkskey reached for his hand. “And I didn't feel like I was that person. I thought [I was] a little bit too crazy. So, it was only after like maybe a 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.

Ritter concluded, “I knew she was incredible. It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I can be the one for her, too.” Lynkskey, also emotional, then voiced her support:  “He did so much work on himself,” she said. “I'm so proud of him.”

Following the sweet appearance, Ritter took to Twitter to thank Barrymore for having them the show and thank Lynskey for being in his life. “Thank you @DrewBarrymoreTV for having us!! And for the space to talk about things like this! And thank you @melanielynskey for having me in the first place,” he wrote.