Kelly Osbourne is opening up about one of the darkest periods of her life. In a candid new interview, the 41-year-old television personality revealed that the death of her father, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, in July 2025 sent her into a tailspin that led to an alcohol relapse after more than four years of sobriety. She described being unable to eat, unable to function, and feeling like “a shell” of herself in the months following his passing.
Speaking on the We Need to Talk podcast with host Paul C. Brunson on September 15, Kelly detailed the depth of her grief and how it impacted every aspect of her life. “I was a shell of myself,” she said. “I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t do anything. I was just empty. Broken in every way a human being could possibly be broken and completely unable to even take care of myself.”
The interview marked the first time Kelly has spoken publicly in such detail about the toll Ozzy’s death took on her, and her decision to share her experience is part of a broader effort to help others navigating bereavement.
In the podcast interview, Kelly described reaching what she called “ground zero” following her father’s death. She had been sober for more than four years when the grief became overwhelming, and she returned to drinking as a way to cope with the pain.
“I was at ground zero. I started drinking again. I lost my mind. I couldn’t handle it,” she said.
Kelly has been open about her struggles with addiction since her teenage years, and this was not her first relapse. In 2021, she revealed she had relapsed after nearly four years of sobriety, explaining at the time that a single glass of champagne had quickly escalated into heavier drinking before she got herself back on track. This time, however, the trigger was different—it was the loss of her father, whom she described as “not just my father but my best friend, my main protector, my biggest cheerleader, my hero.”
The relapse lasted through the aftermath of Ozzy’s death, but Kelly has since regained her sobriety. “I can honestly say today I’m eight months sober,” she shared.
Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76. The Black Sabbath frontman, known as the “Prince of Darkness,” passed away at home, surrounded by family. According to his death certificate, the immediate cause was “out of hospital cardiac arrest” and “acute myocardial infarction,” with coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction listed as joint causes.
Ozzy had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2020, and his health had declined in the years since, including a severe spinal injury from a quad-bike crash that required multiple surgeries. Despite his illness, he staged one final farewell concert, “Back to the Beginning,” on July 5, 2025, in Birmingham, England—just 17 days before his death.
Kelly later revealed that Ozzy had an emotional conversation with her just three days before he died. She recalled him saying, “No matter what happens in this life, you can live the rest of your life knowing that there was one man on this planet that truly loved you, that truly loved you for every single thing you are. And that man is me.”
The father-daughter bond between Ozzy and Kelly was one of the most visible relationships in the Osbourne family’s public life. Kelly first became famous as a teenager on The Osbournes, the groundbreaking reality television series that aired on MTV from 2002 to 2005. The show offered an unvarnished look at the family’s daily life, and Kelly’s often complicated but deeply affectionate relationship with her father became a central part of its appeal.
Ozzy’s influence on Kelly extended beyond their television collaboration. She has spoken about how his career shaped her understanding of fame, family, and resilience. In the podcast interview, Kelly described how losing him left her fundamentally changed. “The girl that I was before my father passed is dead,” she said. “That girl will never come back. I had to figure out everything from ground zero to now. I will never be the same again.”
The Osbourne family has continued to honor Ozzy’s legacy in the months since his death. In June 2026, Kelly attended Royal Ascot wearing a bat-shaped fascinator, a tribute to her father’s infamous on-stage moment in 1982 when he bit the head off a bat thrown by a fan. Sharon and Kelly also accepted a lifetime achievement award on Ozzy’s behalf at the BRIT Awards in February 2026.
The Osbournes have been a fixture in pop culture for more than two decades, a status that began when The Osbournes premiered on MTV in 2002. The show, which documented the family’s home life in Beverly Hills, was a ratings phenomenon and is widely credited with helping to popularize the celebrity reality television genre.
Ozzy Osbourne, born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England, in 1948, rose to fame as the lead vocalist of Black Sabbath, the band that helped define heavy metal in the 1970s. His solo career, which began after he left Black Sabbath in 1979, produced numerous hit albums and singles, and he remained a touring and recording artist into his 70s. His marriage to Sharon Osbourne, which lasted 43 years until his death, was one of the most enduring partnerships in rock music.
Kelly, the couple’s second child, has built a career spanning television, fashion, and music. Jack Osbourne, her older brother, has worked in television production and also appeared on The Osbournes. Their older sister, Aimée Osbourne, has largely avoided the public eye and pursued a career in music under the name ARO.
Kelly’s openness about her struggles with addiction has been a recurring theme throughout her public life. She has discussed her experiences with drugs and alcohol since her teenage years, and her recovery has included multiple periods of sobriety and at least one publicly acknowledged relapse before the one following Ozzy’s death.
In the podcast interview, Kelly offered insight into what has driven her substance use over the years. “I never did drugs because I wanted a party,” she said. “I never drank because I wanted a party. I just didn’t want to feel the pain.”
This statement reflects a pattern that addiction specialists often describe: substance use as a coping mechanism for emotional pain rather than a pursuit of pleasure. Kelly’s description aligns with her account of turning to alcohol when grief became unbearable.
Her current sobriety, which she says has lasted eight months, represents a return to the recovery path she has navigated for years. “I have the most incredible people around me,” she said. “I closed my circle because I lost a lot of friends because people don’t like sadness and they expected me to be over it. And I will never be over it. I will never ever be over it.”
While Kelly’s experience is deeply personal, it illustrates patterns that mental health and addiction professionals have long observed. Grief can be an overwhelming emotional experience that challenges even the most established coping mechanisms. For individuals in recovery from substance use disorders, major losses can be a significant risk factor for relapse.
It’s important to note that relapse does not mean recovery has failed. In the medical and clinical understanding of addiction, relapse is often viewed as a potential part of the recovery process—a signal that additional support or treatment may be needed, not a moral failing or a permanent setback.
Kelly’s decision to speak publicly about her relapse and her return to sobriety may help reduce stigma around both grief and addiction. Her account makes clear that she experienced a period of intense difficulty, sought or received support, and is now back on the path of recovery. She has emphasized that her process is ongoing and that she continues to work on her health.
Beyond the alcohol relapse, Kelly has also spoken about how grief manifested physically. In a separate interview with The Mail on Sunday published in early September, she described losing a significant amount of weight to the point that she did not recognize herself.
“I looked like the f—ing Crypt Keeper,” she told the outlet, referring to the ghoulish character from the Tales from the Crypt horror franchise. “I said, ‘This is scary. I didn’t know I looked like this.’ My spine — you could see every single bone.”
Kelly said she first realized how thin she had become when she saw a photo of herself at a fitting for the 2026 Grammy Awards. She wore a wig to cover her face during the event so that her appearance would not distract from the tribute to her father.
She explained that her grief was so overwhelming that the physical sensation of hunger disappeared. “You’re filled with so much pain that the feeling of hunger can’t even pop up,” she said.
Kelly has not described her weight loss as an eating disorder, and she has not been diagnosed with one publicly. Her comments focus on grief as the cause—a description of how profound emotional pain can suppress basic physical needs.
Kelly has been clear that she is not “over” her father’s death and does not expect to be. She described her grief as something she will carry for the rest of her life. But she has also spoken about her current state with a measure of hope.
“I’m getting a lot better,” she told Hello! Magazine in August. “I’ve got all the help I need. I’m grateful for the support I have in my life.”
She has also emphasized that her recovery is a process that requires ongoing work. “You’ve got to fix the head before you can fix the body. It’s a slow process. It’s going to take me a minute,” she said. “I’m not going to be fixed in a day. I’m not going to be fixed on one therapy session. This is a lifetime of work I’ve got to do and continue to do for the rest of my life.”
Kelly has been focused on caring for her 3-year-old son, Sidney, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Sid Wilson. She said she made an effort to shield him from her grief, describing how she would “snap into Miss Fun Mom” whenever he entered the room. “I didn’t cry in front of him. I always made sure that he was not exposed to inappropriate sorrow,” she said.
While Kelly first became known through The Osbournes, she has built a career in her own right. She has worked as a television personality, appearing on shows including Fashion Police and Dancing with the Stars. She has also pursued music, releasing the album Sleeping in the Nothing in 2005, and has worked in fashion, including a collaboration with the brand Material Girl.
More recently, Kelly has focused on her family and her health. She moved back to the United Kingdom from Los Angeles, a transition that coincided with the period following her father’s death. She is now planning a three-part documentary series that will follow her grief journey, which she hopes will help others experiencing bereavement. “I’m telling my story because there’s a lot that people don’t know,” she said.
Ozzy Osbourne’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the music world and beyond. As the frontman of Black Sabbath, he helped define the sound of heavy metal, and his solo career produced a string of influential albums including Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024.
His final concert, “Back to the Beginning,” held in Birmingham on July 5, 2025, brought together original Black Sabbath members and featured a four-song set with Ozzy seated due to his limited mobility. Kelly described the show as “one of the most incredible moments in music history,” adding that it fulfilled Ozzy’s final wish.
Beyond music, Ozzy’s legacy includes his family’s public life and the cultural impact of The Osbournes, which introduced a new kind of celebrity reality television and made the Osbourne family household names for a generation of viewers.
Kelly has spoken warmly about the support she has received from her family, particularly her mother, Sharon Osbourne. She praised Sharon for making Ozzy’s final show possible, saying her mother “worked her arse off to make that happen.”
Sharon has also spoken publicly about her own grief. In December 2025, she described her final moments with Ozzy, saying he woke her in the night and asked her to kiss and hug him tightly. Later that morning, he suffered a medical event and never spoke again.
Jack Osbourne has also paid tribute to his father, including wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt the day after Ozzy’s death. The family’s public displays of grief have been widely documented, but Kelly’s recent interviews offer the most detailed personal account of how Ozzy’s death affected one member of the family.
| Year | Event | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Kelly Osbourne born | Second child of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne |
| 2002–2005 | The Osbournes airs on MTV | Made the family reality TV pioneers and brought Kelly into the public eye |
| 2005 | Kelly releases Sleeping in the Nothing | Established her as a recording artist in her own right |
| 2020 | Ozzy announces Parkinson’s diagnosis | Began a period of declining health that shaped the family’s later years |
| 2021 | Kelly publicly discusses relapse and return to sobriety | First major public discussion of her recovery journey |
| July 5, 2025 | Ozzy performs final concert | Fulfilled his last wish before his death |
| July 22, 2025 | Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76 | Triggered Kelly’s grief and relapse |
| 2026 | Kelly returns to sobriety | Eight months sober as of September 2026 |
| Sept. 2026 | Kelly speaks publicly about relapse and grief | Shares her experience in podcast and print interviews |
Kelly said her father’s death left her feeling like “a shell of myself.” She described being unable to speak, eat, or care for herself, and said she reached “ground zero” in her grief.
Yes. Kelly said she started drinking again after her father died, describing it as losing her mind and being unable to handle the pain.
Kelly said, “I never did drugs because I wanted a party. I never drank because I wanted a party. I just didn’t want to feel the pain.”
Kelly explained that her grief was so overwhelming that the physical sensation of hunger disappeared. “You’re filled with so much pain that the feeling of hunger can’t even pop up,” she said.
Yes. Kelly said she is eight months sober as of September 2026.
She reported being eight months sober in September 2026, meaning she returned to sobriety around January 2026.
Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76.
He was 76 years old.
Ozzy had six children: Louis Osbourne, Jessica Osbourne, Aimée Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, and Robert Marcato.
Kelly described Ozzy as her “best friend, my main protector, my biggest cheerleader, my hero.”
Kelly is known for The Osbournes, Fashion Police, Dancing with the Stars, and her music career, including the album Sleeping in the Nothing.
The Osbournes was an MTV reality series that aired from 2002 to 2005, documenting the family’s daily life and helping to popularize celebrity reality television.
Ozzy was the frontman of Black Sabbath and had a successful solo career. He is considered a pioneer of heavy metal and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yes. Kelly has discussed her struggles with drugs and alcohol since her teenage years, including a previous relapse in 2021.
Kelly has focused on her recovery, her son, and planning a documentary about grief. She has said she is “getting a lot better” but that her grief is a lifelong process.