Rob Lowe Celebrates Major Milestone, Thanks Family for ‘Putting up’ With Him

Rob Lowe is celebrating a major milestone in his life, and he’s thanking his family for “putting up” with him over the years. Taking to Instagram, Lowe shared a photo of himself riding a bike down the beach and captioning it with a message about his sobriety. “Today I have 31 years drug and alcohol free,” he wrote, “I want to give thanks to everyone walking this path with me, and welcome anyone thinking about joining us; the free and the happy. And a big hug to my family for putting up with me!! Xoxo.”

The post has garnered more than 200,000 likes and nearly countless comments from supportive fans, friends, and family. “So proud of you, dad. Love you,” Lowe’s son Johnny wrote.Singer and songwriter Jewel commented, “So proud!!! Can’t even imagine what that takes- but I know courage and grit must be two big parts!” A fan of the actor added, “Wow! Good job and I know your wife and children are part of you staying sober. You have a beautiful family and you have kept it grounded for them and yourself.”

The former Parks and Rec star has been sober since the early ’90s and has always been honest and candid about his fight against substance abuse. You have to want to do it,” he said during an interview on Sunday Today in 2020. “I do a lot of work with adolescents who are struggling with drugs and alcohol and their parents. And that’s the thing I always tell them is that, unfortunately, no one can get healthy for their job or for their relationship or because of their court case, or because of Mom or Dad or a sister or brother. They can only do it when they want to do it.”

He added, “It’s really simple and it can be very demoralizing, but it’s not going to happen. So I wanted to do it. I was done, I was ready, I did it and got into recovery. And recovery really does work for people who work it.”

In 2015, Lowe was the recipient of the Spirit of Sobriety award at the Brent Shapiro Foundation Summer Spectacular, which took place in Beverly Hills. Prior to the ceremony, he spoke with PEOPLE and explained that “recovery is a road of many surprising, unexpected gifts. This is certainly one of them.” Lowe added, “Everyone at some point has to come to terms with their own relationship with drugs and alcohol. I have learned a few things over the years. Whenever I have an opportunity to share that with people, it’s very fulfilling to do it.”