Key Highlights
- Jerry O’Connell reveals how his wife’s ultimatum led him to quit smoking.
- O’Connell discusses his decade-long struggle with nicotine addiction and multiple failed attempts to quit.
- A hypnosis session reportedly helped O’Connell end his 14-year smoking habit.
- The couple, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, have been married since 2008 and have two children together.
Quitting the Cigarette Habit
Jerry O’Connell, the star of “Stand by Me,” has finally kicked his long-standing smoking habit. In a recent podcast appearance, he shared the story behind this significant change in his life. For decades, O’Connell battled with nicotine addiction, trying various methods to quit.
But it was his wife’s ultimatum that did the trick.
Rebecca Romijn, also an actress and former co-star of “Full House,” issued a stark ultimatum: no physical contact until O’Connell stopped smoking. This extreme measure worked for about two months before they resumed intimacy. O’Connell admitted, “My wife said she would not touch me if I smoked.
And that lasted about two months.” He added, “No contact. My wife said, ‘I’m not touching you anymore until you quit smoking.'”
The Hypnosis Solution
After the initial failure of the ultimatum approach, O’Connell turned to hypnosis as a last resort. He described his experience: “I knew a girl who had quit smoking, and I called her up, and she said, ‘I’m going to give you the number of this lady.’ And I went to see her, and I had to bring a photo of my children and my wife, and I sat down on her recliner, and she put her headphones on me and there was like spa music. She was like, ‘I’m going to count to 10.
Ten, nine, eight…’ And I fell asleep.”
When he woke up, O’Connell felt a shift in his perspective: “That was baloney,” he recalled, “and I couldn’t believe ‘I just gave some old lady $800 for that.’ It seemed like a waste of money.” But the reality hit him hard when he tried to light a cigarette back home. “I put one in my mouth but couldn’t light it.” O’Connell added, “It was just over. I didn’t know how much I wanted to smoke again.”
The Long Road to Quitting
Before his wife’s ultimatum and hypnosis session, O’Connell had been trying to quit on his own for years. He mentioned, “I struggled with nicotine for decades. Had to get hypnotized.
I haven’t had a ciggy in like 14 years.” His marriage to Romijn began when they first met at the Maxim Hot 100 party in 2004 and got engaged just one year later. They tied the knot in July 2008 and welcomed two twin daughters, Dolly and Charlie, over the course of their marriage.
Despite his success, O’Connell remains cautious about sharing too much detail: “There’s children involved. Teenage children who read everything on the internet,” he said.
He continued, “My wife’s ex-husband recently wrote a biography, and it referred to my wife in a negative manner. There would be no feeding into that situation.” O’Connell’s approach shows his commitment not only to himself but also to his family.
Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell have managed their unconventional marriage with understanding and support, proving that sometimes, extreme measures can lead to positive change. As for the smoking habit, it seems they’ve finally found a solution that works for both of them.
