John Mayer’s Twitter account has seen the “Gravity” singer-songwriter argue about gun control, consider the differences between plain and peanut M&Ms and, most recently, an exchange of flirty words with Nicki Minaj. Mayer’s tweet on October 24, however, was as deep and personal as any of his adored song lyrics: the Grammy winner shared that he’s officially celebrating 365 days without alcohol.
“One year ago today, I decided to give drinking a break,” Mayer told his 1.2 million Twitter followers. “A very personal thing for everyone. For me, a constant return on investment.” Mayer, who just turned 40 in October, later added: “I post this because I want people to know that ‘that’s enough for now’ is on the menu, so to speak.”
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Mayer revealed that he was “entering cannabis life,” replacing his drinking with weed. “I put [marijuana] where drinking used to go, and the quality of life has gone up considerably. Drinking is a fucking con,” he said. “How much is enough? Every time I drank, I was looking for some sort of regulated amount. It always feels wrong for me. I always feel like I went overboard. ‘I said two, now it’s three, now we’re at four?’”
According to Mayer, his drinking hadn’t progressed into full-blown alcohol use disorder or troubles with the law, but it certainly never made him feel comfortable. “I never had a serious issue with it, but I remember looking around going, ‘This feels rigged. I’m taking a break.’ There’s never an amount that felt like I was succeeding at life. It always felt wrong.”
Interestingly, Mayer draws a line between his past drinking and his current marijuana use. “I was always the guy saying that I didn’t like altered states. Once you know who you are, then it becomes OK,” he told Rolling Stone. “I’m much more open-minded to small changes in consciousness. I remember every trip I ever took. I remember every thought I ever had when I laid there.”
In recent years, Mayer has stepped away from the spotlight, going so far as to move to Montana. A New York Times profile on the singer noted that Mayer’s self-imposed exile followed the one-two punch of two infamous interviews in 2010 that very nearly torpedoed his career. Between a Rolling Stone story where he explicitly detailed his sexual proclivities, to a Playboy interview where he referred to ex-girlfriend Jessica Simpson as “sexual napalm” and “crack cocaine,” Mayer endured an immediate backlash that he hadn’t anticipated.
“I’ve inherited a younger man’s reputation,” he said in the Times story. “You can even break ‘bad boy’ into good bad boy and bad bad boy—I somehow managed to become a bad version of a bad boy.”
A recent GQ Style interview found Mayer more centered than ever. “The reason I’m so happy now is because a lot of expectation that I had for myself was probably a little bit unnecessary. I have a perfect image of ambition and reward for my life right now,” Mayer said—and it’s a life that doesn’t involve alcohol whatsoever.
As the singer-songwriter enters his second year of sobriety, Mayer hasn’t only come a long way from his past, but it’s clear that his future is a wonderland.
