Rose Leslie Says She’s Not Going to “Guard” Husband Kit Harington From His

Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie explained that part of learning how to deal with her husband Kit Harington‘s alcohol addiction was learning that it’s something he has to figure out on his own.

The actress opened up for the first time about her partner’s journey towards sobriety in a new cover story for Harper’s Bazaar UK, telling that magazine that, “For Kit, being an addict, it’s very important for him to recognize himself as such.” She added, “The AA community has provided such a loving space for him to feel heard, to make sure he’s not alone. But if it weren’t for rehab, he would be in a very different headspace right now.”

Leslie said that they are both “doing well” and Harrington is “now several years into his sobriety,” after first seeking treatment back in May 2019 by checking himself into the Privé-Swiss Wellness retreat in Connecticut. She continued, “I’ve learnt a lot about addiction and it’s something Kit is forever going to be aware of, but it’s on him whether he chooses to drink again. No amount of nannying is going to be able to stop him from doing what he decides to do…I don’t choose to put that pressure on myself. The responsibility of his behavior is on him. It’s not on me to guard him from it.”

Right now, the couple is focused on building their life together, recently purchasing a second home in Suffolk where they plan to go after Harington finishes his performances of Henry V at Donmar Warehouse in London. “We’re going to make a home, try to make friends. We’re just going to use our son!” Leslie joked, referring to their 14-month-old baby boy. “In London, we’re firing on all cylinders, and when we get to the countryside, we can just turn it all off.”

Harington also previously spoke candidly about his struggles with alcohol in an August 2021 interview with The Sunday Times, telling the outlet that he “went through some pretty horrible stuff” following the finale of Game of Thrones. “You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person. And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are. And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change,’” he explained. “One of my favorite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots. I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”

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