Mackenzie Phillips, 66, is best known for her lead role as Julie Cooper on the 1970s sitcom One Day At A Time... and for the main struggle that led to her firing: drug addiction. Phillips has been an open book about her lifelong battle, and in an interview with Fox News Digital, she even admitted to using drugs on set with co-star Valerie Bertinelli. “We would do coke together in the dressing room and stuff... I just happened to be the one that got caught,” Philips said. Phillips further mentioned leaving the set with Bertinelli during lunch breaks to swim, drink wine, and snort cocaine. Phillips’ addiction severed her friendship with Bertinelli. “We certainly had our years where I was, you know, out of my mind and Valerie was like okay,” Phillips said. Despite this, the two women built a friendship that remains an important part of Phillips’ life. Bertinelli has spoken about her cocaine use during the ’70s and ’80s while she was married to rocker Eddie Van Halen. Since getting sober, Phillips, who is the daughter of The Mamas and the Papas singer John Phillips, has worked as a counselor and manager at Breathe Life Healing Centers. She reflects on how her ongoing battle with addiction has made her resilient, given her a stronger faith, and leaves her feeling blessed to be where she is currently in her life.
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