Jeff Hardy says his drinking ‘got carried away’ after father’s passing in 2021
Jeff Hardy opened up about the death of his father during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet.
Matt and Jeff Hardy’s father, Gilbert, died in April 2021 at 87. Jeff says that his drinking worsened around the time of his father’s death as he was taking care of him. That December, Jeff was released by WWE after an incident at a live event where he left the ring area during a match and never returned. WWE wanted him to go to rehab afterward, but Hardy refused.
Jeff Hardy said:
“When I left WWE in 2021 my dad had been real sick. 2017, right after we went back to WWE at Mania, that was probably around the time that he felt good for the last time before he slipped back into this dark depression. But yeah, I’d been taking care of him, and it was just bad to where he did not want to be here. He was ready to go.”
“Our mom died at a young age, I was 10 when she passed away. So I’ve always told myself when he needs me, I’m going to take care of him. I just did everything I could to get him excited about life and all that stuff. So that’s definitely when my drinking got carried away during those times that I’ve never really talked about. The year 2021 is when I miss WrestleMania because my dad had just passed away. April 6, my wife’s birthday, is when my dad passed away, which was strange in itself. But yeah, it just got out of control and I needed something extreme to happen.”
“It’s sad the way it worked out, but I refused to go to rehab, so I ended up waiting my 90 days out and showing up in AEW, and naturally screwed that up as well. I feel so bad about Matt’s position, because now being in TNA, I feel like I can really kind of pay back for that to the fullest extent.”
Jeff continued to say that by the time he ended up in AEW, he did not believe he had a problem with alcohol because he was not dealing with withdrawal symptoms from not drinking. However, he now realizes that he was in denial, and it led to him making a decision that could have led to him hurting someone.
Jeff Hardy continued:
“I never got to the point to where I had physical withdrawals from not drinking. So with that, I was like okay, I must not be an alcoholic because I don’t get sick from not drinking. Then I’ll be sober for weeks and then give into it again. But then, man, when the DUI started happening, that’s when it really got crazy how much denial I was in because, man, I never have any intention of hurting anybody. So the thought of I could have possibly hurt somebody else out there on the road, I’m so sorry for that, especially for people who have lost loved ones in DUI accidents. But I needed something big to happen, that’s what happened. I went to rehab for the long haul, and it’s exactly what I needed.”
In June 2022, Jeff was arrested for DUI in Florida. AEW announced he was suspended without pay but that the company would pay for him to go to rehab. Jeff returned to AEW 10 months later, but he and his brother never received the same level of push they had received before his arrest. They both returned to TNA Wrestling in 2024 and are currently the promotion’s tag team champions.
Jeff Hardy’s full appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet is available below.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.