Amanda Knox Reveals Health Concerns Drove Her to Give Up Alcohol and Caffeine: 'I Should Have Realized I Had a Problem'

Amanda Knox opened up on her decision to take control of her health back after developing a risky relationship with coffee and alcohol.

In an essay published on Tuesday, January 2, the mom-of-two confessed she realized she had an issue with caffeine when she went to a doctor because she was suffering from "debilitating abdominal pains."

Although Knox was forced to eventually quit drinking "cold turkey" when she was wrongfully convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2009. However, when she was acquitted of the crime several years later, she admitted she picked the habit back up — particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"On a typical day, I’d have four cups of coffee before noon — coffee and I had stayed tight all along — and two or three glasses of chardonnay at the end of the workday," she wrote. "I had one friend slapping me awake each morning, and another working out the knots each night."

"I decided to cut back to two cups of coffee a day and one glass of wine a week. Then I had a miscarriage. I was devastated," she shared. "Four months later, when I found myself pregnant again, I wasn’t taking any chances. I decided to cut my caffeine intake back to a single cup of coffee in the morning and forgo alcohol entirely for the duration of the pregnancy. My husband [Christopher Robinson] even joined me in solidarity."

She noted she'd been "sleeping better at night" and had "plenty of energy" since cutting back on the popular drinks and eventually decided to quit them both entirely throughout 2023.

However, after welcoming her son, Echo, into the world — having abstained from alcohol and caffeine for an entire year — she said she'd been considering having the occasional cup of coffee or glass of wine in the future.

"As much as I’m drawn to staying dry and decaffeinated indefinitely, total abstinence also, strangely, feels as if I’m allowing the substance to maintain power over me — as if I don’t have the guts to show the door to that friend who won’t take the hint and leave at the end of the party," she explained. "What I’m considering now is treating both caffeine and alcohol as mindful substances, to be approached with the same care as psychedelics."

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Knox said she planned to be more mindful of how she consumed caffeine and alcohol in the future, but also why she was indulging in them.

"I’m going to enjoy a glass of wine or a cappuccino, I’m going to do so with intent," she penned. "I’ll savor the taste, and the mental shift, but also the decision itself, the act of choosing. Freedom, too, has a flavor, and a mental buzz. That’s something I never want to quit."

Slate published Knox's essay.