Patrick J. Adams struggled with alcohol abuse, depression before 'Suits' exit
Patrick J. Adams has no regrets about his exit from "Suits."
On Jesse Tyler Ferguson's "Dinner's On Me" podcast, the actor, 43, broke down his decision to leave the USA Network series after seven seasons. He departed for several reasons, but a "big part" of it was that he was struggling with alcohol abuse and mental health issues at the time, he said.
"I wasn't taking good care of my mental health, and I was drinking too much come the end of (the) seventh season," he said.
"I was in a zone of living a pretty unexamined life, was pretty miserable, was pretty depressed, and I didn't have the tools to deal with that depression beyond just spending money and drinking too much, and not really knowing how to talk about it."
Adams added that he was not doing the things he needed to be doing to address his depression, so he realized, "It's time to go home and do some work and change some things up."
It still took "a few years" for him to do this work, but he said a "breaking point" was when he realized he wasn't being present as a father, so he decided to stop drinking. Cutting out alcohol was the "best thing I ever did for myself," he said.
Adams starred as Michael Ross on the legal drama, which aired for nine seasons and concluded in 2019. By the end of Season 7, his character married Duchess Meghan's Rachel Zane, and both he and Meghan left the show. Adams briefly returned in the final season.
In 2023, the series received newfound attention on Netflix, where it climbed the streaming charts years after its series finale.
Speaking on "Dinner's On Me," Adams said another reason he left "Suits" was because he felt his character's storyline had simply run its course and he no longer had many interesting things to play.
Because of this, the "only reason" he would stay on the show would be for the money.
"I remember talking to my mom ... she was the one who was like, 'Is the only reason you're doing this (is) for money? That would be the only reason to stay at this point. ... Then you should go.'"
But Adams joked he sometimes still wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about the money he lost by not starring in the last two seasons. "But at the same time, I never regretted the decision for a second," he noted. "I knew it was the right thing."
In January, Adams and his fellow "Suits" co-stars Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty and Gina Torres reunited at the Golden Globe Awards, though Duchess Meghan wasn't present. Torres told Variety that no one talked to her about the planned reunion because "we don't have her number."
Adams is now hosting "Sidebar," a "Suits" rewatch podcast, with Rafferty. In a Reddit comment last month, he revealed that although he and Duchess Meghan are "not really in touch," when she heard about the rewatch podcast, she sent him "a lovely text, saying how excited she was for us and asking how she could help in anyway."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental and/or substance use disorders, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's free and confidential treatment referral and information service at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). It's available 24/7 in English and Spanish (TTY: 1-800-487-4889).