Olivia Munn Carries Out Random Drug Tests On John Mulaney After He Shared His Fear That He Will Relapse Again

    Olivia first started carrying out random drug tests on John back in 2021, when she was six months pregnant with their son, and they were not together — and the tests have continued ever since.

    Stephanie Soteriou
    by Stephanie Soteriou

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This article mentions substance misuse and addiction.

    John Mulaney has never shied away from discussing his experience with addiction, with the 42-year-old star revealing in 2014 that he had been sober since September 2005.

    John Mulaney, in a light-colored suit with an open-collared shirt, smiling at the camera, against a blurred background
    Julien De Rosa / AFP via Getty Images

    However, in 2020, John checked himself into rehab as he battled an addiction to prescription drugs and cocaine. Soon after he left the facility, John relapsed, and he was then confronted with a star-studded intervention from his closest friends. 


    Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers in September 2021, John recalled: “When I opened the door, I knew right away it was an intervention. That's how bad of a drug problem I had, that when I opened a door and saw people, I went: 'This is probably an intervention about my drug problem.'"


    John went back to rehab until February 2021, and he has managed to remain sober ever since. 


    Soon after this second rehab stint, it was confirmed that John had split from his wife Anna Marie Tendler, and started a relationship with Olivia Munn — who was pregnant at the time. Their son, Malcolm, was born in November 2021. 


    John and Olivia married in July of this year, and their daughter, Méi, was born via surrogate in September. 

    Now, in a new interview with GQ, Olivia has revealed that she “barely knew” John when she fell pregnant with Malcolm as the couple opened up about John’s addiction battle.

    John Mulaney in a tuxedo and Olivia Munn in a strapless dress pose together at an event with a red backdrop
    Matt Winkelmeyer / WireImage for Vanity Fair

    Discussing his substance misuse, John admitted: “There was a time when I would have told you that I could not fly, sleep, or perform unless I had a Klonopin.”


    “I thought I had serious light sensitivity onstage. Spotlights had to be at a super-low grade. The front row had to be lit, because I thought I had a spatial… not vertigo, but something like that,” he went on. “I would have said: ‘It sucks, because I don’t always want to take Klonopin and Xanax, but I have to.’”


    John also told the publication about a time that he did so much cocaine while alone in his New York apartment that he feared that he was going to die, but was unable to seek help.


    “I left the door to my apartment open,” he shared. “I can’t explain the logic, but I was going to hit the door buzzer and tell the doorman to run and get the paramedics. I think I was worried I wouldn’t be able to dial and explain, and I didn’t want them to have to break the door down. I just sat on the rug and slowly came down.”


    “And I thought: ‘OK, this is insane. I’m going to totally slow down,’” John added. “That was like a Tuesday. And Thursday night, I did it again.”

    While John and Olivia briefly met at Seth Meyers’s wedding back in 2013, they didn’t reconnect until soon after John had left rehab in early 2021.

    Olivia Munn in a bold, patterned suit posing at a Vax Live event backdrop with sponsor logos
    Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE

    Reacting to tabloid reports that the pair were dating amid Olivia’s pregnancy, she revealed: “It wasn’t anything close to ‘dating,’ I barely knew him.”


    The two even lived on different coasts throughout most of Olivia’s pregnancy, with Olivia based in Los Angeles while John remained in New York.


    Still, despite them not being together, John was immediately keen for them to have the baby and be coparents. 

    And how little they really knew each other impacted Olivia’s ability to support John through his sobriety. She said: “It was like watching a man in a tsunami.”

    John Mulaney and Olivia Munn sitting on a couch, smiling at the camera.
    Stefanie Keenan / WireImage

    “I was watching someone newly sober, at the edge of a cliff, and I didn’t know him well enough to help him,” Olivia added, also revealing that John confided in her that he was scared that he would relapse again. 


    “In my head, I’m thinking: ‘I don’t know really what’s happening with this guy. It feels pretty shaky,'” Olivia explained, sharing that she would sometimes go to watch his comedy shows. “But then I would see him at the Troubadour and be like: ‘Man, he’s on fire. He’s just that phenomenal.’”

    When Olivia was six months pregnant, she decided to get more involved in John's recovery, and the two agreed that she would give him random drug tests — something that they still do three years later.

    John Mulaney in a plaid suit and Olivia Munn in a sleeveless blazer pose together at an event
    Dave Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images for Hermes

    Discussing the drug tests with GQ, John admitted: “It’s like a relief. I like to be able to not even have that be a question in her or anyone else’s mind. Something about peeing in that cup is like, I’m walking this walk. It gives me confidence.”


    Soon after Olivia first took this step — and just two months before Malcolm was born — she and John decided to enter a relationship with one another and raise their son as a couple. 

    Needless to say, that worked out pretty well for them, and John’s sobriety is also going strong, with the star revealing that he has participated in several other people’s interventions in the years since his own.

    If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.