Hunter Biden Says Dad Joe 'Never Stopped Trying to Help' Him Overcome Addiction as He Calls Family His 'Rock' While Getting Candid About Sobriety

Hunter Biden opened up for a deeply personal, two-part interview on the “Bleep With Ana Navarro” podcast, discussing his public struggle with addiction, his recovery journey, family losses and the scrutiny faced by his family.

The 56-year-old described what it actually felt like to hit rock bottom in the public eye, shared how he managed to overcome his struggles when so many cannot, and explained why he is now speaking out on social media after years of silence.

“The reason I'm going to use it (my platform) is pure and simple, it’s that 50 million Americans on a daily basis are still sick and suffering from addiction or struggling in their recovery. There's not a family that I know of, not a single person that I've ever talked to, that does not know someone that is at least one degree of separation from them, that they love, that is an important part of their life, that has not struggled with what I went through. I just went through it publicly,” he admitted.

Ana Navarro and Biden bonded over painful common experiences, noting that both lost an adored older brother and both have families heavily impacted by addiction and cancer.

“The single thing that everyone will experience in a life is pain. Not everyone will truly know love, but everyone will experience pain. And it's the thing that connects us. And oftentimes what we think is that we are unique in that pain, that nobody's ever felt the loss that you feel when you lose your mother, your brother, or your sister,” he said. “But if you speak about it and you're open about it and you share your experience, what you find is that you're not alone. And in that, there's an enormous reservoir of strength in that connection.”

When asked why the United States is so far behind on a solution to addiction, he said, "I believe one of the reasons we're so far behind on a solution for addiction is because it has always been kind of cast as a moral failing.”

Hunter emphasized that his father, former President Joe Biden, provided him with unyielding support that helped him get through his battles.

“I would recommend to anyone that is trying to help save, support someone who is suffering in their addiction: don't let them go. You don't have to allow their toxicity to ruin your life… But the one thing with me is that my dad never stopped calling. Nobody in my family stopped calling. They never stopped trying to help me,” he said.

Hunter, who praised his father as his and his family’s “rock,” offered advice to those in active addiction and recovery.

“I wish that I had a prescription for that miracle that I could share with people and say, 'If you just do this, this, and this, you're going to be okay.' But the one thing that I do know is this: that you're not alone. And the more that you share your story, the more that you're open about it, the more that you try to reach out and help someone else that's suffering like you are, the greater the chance that you'll make it, at least for today,” he said.

Hunter struggled with severe addictions to crack cocaine and alcohol (specifically heavy vodka abuse), which he has openly detailed in his memoir, Beautiful Things.

He described drinking massive amounts of vodka daily, particularly worsening after the 2015 death of his brother, Beau Biden.

He battled heavy, round-the-clock use during the peak years of his addiction.

He has stated that he achieved sobriety in May 2019.