Former Fox News Anchor Laurie Dhue Fights Alcoholism

By Hannah Vanbiber (hvanbiber@gmail.com)

“I suffered in silence because I knew I needed to keep these good jobs,”
said Former Fox News anchor Laurie Dhue. Photo courtesy of Laurie Dhue

Laurie Dhue, once a popular and rising news anchor with Fox News, was a closet alcoholic for over ten years of broadcasting.

As an anchor for cable television’s #1 network, she was known in homes across America. She was wealthy and successful with a high-profile job in Manhattan.

And yet she had been living in her own “private hell" of addiction.

On March 14, 2007, she woke up “deeply hung over” and realized she wouldn’t live much longer if she kept drinking. 

“I looked in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself,” Dhue said. “I knew I had to get help.”

Recently, four years into her recovery, the story became public.  Dhue is now willing to talk about it publicly.  

Dhue covered high profile stories and personalities like Dr. Henry Kissinger.
Dhue with Kissinger Photo courtesy of Laurie Dhue

Dhue recounts her life of alcoholism as one of mere survival, drinking heavily two or three nights a week, and coming to work regularly with a hangover.  As a high-functioning alcoholic, she managed to keep her problem completely hidden.

“Everyone saw this attractive, confident person on TV, but really I felt so alone and afraid,” Dhue said. “I thought, ‘Well, I guess I have to keep drinking.’"

Dhue says low self-esteem, something that started forming in her adolescence, was a fuel for her addiction. 

"I have never felt good enough," Dhue said.

Dhue grew up in Atlanta with a loving and protective Christian family.  She rarely drank in high school, but when she joined a sorority at UNC Chapel Hill, she says she quickly went from inexperienced family girl to heavy partier.  

“The first night I got drunk,” Dhue said, “I was very very sick. But that’s what you did in college. I wanted to fit in.”

“I loved being in Jersualem,” Dhue said of her reporting stint in the city. 

Photo Courtesy of Laurie Dhue

When she graduated and eventually got a job with CNN and eventually MSNBC and Fox News, the drinking only continued.

“I worked hard and I played hard,” Dhue said. She is the only anchor to have held a job at all three news agencies.

Dhue moved to New York City when she was 30 and she says the city provided opportunities for deeper addiction.

“In New York, everything is possible, and nothing is off limits,” Dhue said. “The bars are open all night.  I would go out and drink myself into oblivion.”

Then one morning, after another night of binge-drinking, Dhue says she realized she was too sick to keep going.

“I looked in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself,” Dhue said. “I knew I had to get help. A drinking life is not a happy life, nor is it glamorous and it’s really not any fun.”

With her recovery program, she went from frequently downing two bottles of wine at dinner to giving alcohol up altogether.

She attributes her transformation to the love of God.

“I grew up in a Presbyterian church and have always believed in God. I am not born again, I am not an Evangelical, but I believe in a loving and benevolent God,” Dhue said. "He is the reason I am sober."

Dhue poses with friend and former colleague Geraldo Riveras. Photo courtesy of Laurie Dhue  

Now she is working her way back into broadcast journalism, which she says she still loves.  She is currently working for WPIX, a local New York television station.

“I’m not saying that I don’t have really hard times.  Today I got off the set and wanted to shoot myself,” Dhue says with a laugh. “But every day now, I seek God’s will for my life instead of my own. That makes everything different.”

Dhue says she knows the suffering of addiction and hopes that her journey can encourage others.

According to her mom, “We have our Laurie back.”


For More Information:

CBN

Today Show
Geraldo at Large

Laurie Dhue Says Help Exists by hvanbiber