“The Bear”’s Matty Matheson Celebrates 12 Years of Sobriety: ‘This Life Is Wild and Beautiful’

Matty Matheson is marking more than a decade of sobriety.

The Bear star, 43, shared a selfie along with a message reflecting on the milestone in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

“12 YEARS OF CHOOSING  NOT TO PICK UP DRUGS AND ALCOHOL,” he began the candid caption. “THIS LIFE IS WILD AND BEAUTIFUL AND FULL OF UPS AND DOWNS EVERY DAY. WE GET TO CHOSE WE GET TO HURT WE GET TO HEAL WE GET TO FEEL WE GET TO LOVE AND BE LOVED!”

The chef and restaurateur went on to give credit to his family for their support. Matheson and his wife of 11 years, Trish Spencer, share three children: Macarthur, Rizzo and Ozzy.

“I LOVE MY FAMILY SO FREAKIN MUCH ITS THE BEST THING EVER!” he wrote. “I LOVE BEING ABLE TO WORK AND DO THE THINGS THAT I LOVE DOING THAT RIPPLE LAUGHTER AND STUPIDITY AND FEED PEOPLE AND WORK WITH PEIPLE THAT WANNA SERVE PEOPLE AND TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE!”

“EVERYDAY IS A NEW DAY EVERY HOUR IS A NEW LIFE!” he added. “THERES ROOMS THAT WILL LOVE YOU UNTIL YOU CAN LOVE YOURSELF! WE LOSE WE WIN BUT WE GET TO TRY EVERY SINGLE DAY! I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ROCKIN WITH ME SO FREAKING HARD!”

Matheson concluded the post, “HAVE A BLESSED ASS DAY YOU FREAKS! 😍”

The culinary star shared a similar message of gratitude on the anniversary of his sobriety in 2024.

Last year’s post included a raw photo of himself hospitalized at age 29 for a heart attack he said was caused by his substance abuse.

“All the industry clichés are real. Lots of drinking and doing drugs,” Matheson told The Guardian in November 2024, speaking about his alcohol and cocaine use. “Live like that for 10 years? You get kinda burnt.”

“Even at my craziest moments of drinking and drugs, I always showed up for work. I could go hard until six, eight in the morning. As long as I got two or three hours sleep, I was good,” Matheson said. 

He recalled that a few years after opening his first restaurant, Parts and Labour in Toronto, he felt the effects of his addiction. 

“It was after long years of going at it. I went to bed Saturday night, and woke up Sunday thinking I was having one. I went to the hospital: I’d had a heart attack in my sleep,” he said.

Matheson remembered partying less for a few months but then “[turning] it back up.” He said friends banned him from bars and drug dealers cut him off.

Ultimately, his loved ones held an intervention on Nov. 12, 2013.

““I’m lucky to have friends who cared about me,” he said, “and I was in a place where I could listen.”

Three months ago, Matheson took to Instagram with another personal message, sharing praise for his wife on their anniversary.

“11 YEARS MARRIED 26 YEARS TOGETHER,” he captioned a wedding photo of the couple in August. 

“YOURE THE ONE THE BEST PARTNER EVER BEST EVERYTHING,” Matheson added. “I CANNOT WAIT TO CONTINUE TO LIVE LIFE WITH YOU AND RAISE OUR CHILDREN AND JUST BE WITH YOU I LOVE YOU YOU RULE!”

In addition to his breakout role as handyman-turned-server Neil Fak on The Bear, Matheson serves as executive producer on the FX series, which stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri.