Jaimie Alexander's Brush with Death: How ‘Almost Dying’ Sparked Her Sobriety Journey

Jaimie Alexander, known for her role in Blindspot and as Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealed that she found her path to sobriety after a near-fatal experience in 2018.

In a candid post on her Substack, the actress recounted the terrifying moments leading to her "accidental sobriety."

Alexander described her struggles with alcoholism, stating that she once "drank heavily, made terrible decisions, and justified some pretty s----- behavior" for years.

The turning point came when her appendix burst and she went into sepsis. Just days before, she found herself snowed in at a cabin with a new romantic partner who was sober. Stuck without access to alcohol, she faced what she called "absolute h---."

"No booze anywhere. Believe me — I checked every nook and cranny," Alexander shared. "I should probably mention that, at this point, I hadn’t gone a single day without a drink in years. Yikes. Panic started creeping in."

The first day of her "accidental sobriety" began with that snowstorm. Upon returning home the next evening, she found herself unable to drink a glass of bourbon despite craving it for two days.

"I started feeling dizzy in a way that felt dangerous," she recalled. "I couldn’t drink it. Me — the person who would have drunk even with pneumonia — put the glass back down on the counter. I remember feeling like some kind of magnetic force was separating me from the bourbon."

As Alexander continued her journey, she experienced physical symptoms that compounded her alcohol cravings. While working on set, she felt dizzy and unwell. When her abdominal pain escalated, she eventually called a producer for help.

"By lunchtime, I could barely stand," she explained. "I noticed the pain had gone from my upper abdomen down to the lower right side. At this point, I started to feel very confused and extremely nervous... Soon I was sweating, pale as a ghost, curled up in the fetal position on the floor of my trailer."

Upon arriving at her OB-GYN, Alexander felt contractions intense enough to rival her many past injuries, including exploded and herniated discs from her work in stunts. The doctor quickly diagnosed her ruptured appendix, leading to an emergency surgery.

"I was screaming in pain," she remembered. "At the ER, I was rushed through a CT scan. They told me my appendix had fully ruptured and I was entering sepsis."

Just before surgery, she felt a "warm, powerful sense of peace" wash over her, leading to a profound realization. "You can never drink again," a voice told her. She made that promise and has remained sober ever since.

"Looking back, what I thought was bad and the worst thing to ever happen to me ended up being good and the best thing that ever happened to me," Alexander reflected. "It took almost dying for me to wake up and start living."

In her powerful message, she encouraged others facing challenges — be it addiction, personal struggles, or heartbreak — to seek help and find their inner courage.

She starred in Blindspot for five seasons from 2015 to 2020 and appeared as Lady Sif in Marvel’s Thor franchise.