Dr. Drew: Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Split Will Be 'Nuclear'

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are headed for an epic breakup. The recently-separated Eva Longoria has a classic case of love addiction. Miley Cyrus is acting out right now because of her parents' divorce. And today's laissez-faire attitude toward divorce is "bullshit."

Yep, the doctor is definitely in.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, the long-time host of radio's "Loveline" and of the VH1 shows "Celebrity Rehab," "Sex Rehab," and "Sober House" shared these and other revelations with us at Milk Studios in Hollywood last week, where he was shooting promos for his upcoming HLN talk show "Dr. Drew," in which he'll tackle these themes and many more nightly in-studio during prime time starting in the spring.

Below, some highlights:

On Brad and Angelina:

Just add up a couple things. There's no such thing as 'I was a heroin addict.' That doesn't exist in nature. Something is going on with [her] addiction. Or she's in recovery. And I don't see any evidence that's the case. So we've got one person who's a heroin addict. Which is a chronic lifelong condition, period. We have another person who has said things like, "Well, Jennifer [Aniston] was into long-term relationships, that's just her way of looking at things." I mean, that demeaning attitude towards other people's emotions. Now put those two people together and you have got a really volatile situation. And they're constantly creating things to weld themselves together. Which is only going to serve to make a more nuclear eruption. There will be some sort of meltdown that will be phenomenal when it does happen.

On Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's split:

This guy is trying to have a marriage ... and he starts acting out [sexually] like that? I don't have to watch too many episodes of [VH1's "Basketball Wives"] to know what's going on. Now, why didn't Eva know about that? Talk about love addiction.

On the role of sex and love addiction in divorce:

Love addicts and sex addicts tend to go together. Love addicts are often people who were severely abandoned. And they tend to idealize people. It's sort of romantic love gone pathological. The kind of person [they'll] idealize will necessarily be the kind of person who will abandon them. If that person suddenly comes around and forms a closeness, the love addict will sabotage the relationship.

On why maintaining marriages can be harder as a celebrity:

Relationships need a lot of care and attention. If you have two people disregarding the care and attention of the relationship, you're going to have a problem. And then also add to that, they are being put on what are essentially sensory deprivation chambers--movie sets--and asked to evoke powerful feelings with attractive people. I mean, hello.

On why Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson didn't last:

I don't know what that was ... I've known Ryan for a long time. He's a nice guy. He seems like someone who should have a healthy relationship.

On why Miley Cyrus is acting out:

Can you imagine the pain that Miley is in? Her mom just had an affair. Her parents are breaking up ... She's in trouble right now. She's manifesting signs of mental health problems, as well she should, right? It's a teenager in trouble because of problems.

On Kelsey Grammer, who recently announced his engagement to his fourth wife:

I don't know what to do with Kelsey. I need to know him a little better. But when you see serial re-marriers it's usually more people of Larry King's generation. And their thing was, they didn't have sex unless they were married. I can't make sense of it.

On why he can't stand today's lax attitude toward divorce:

We have gone through a 30-year period where terribly unhealthy things that contribute to unhappiness have been normalized as 'just another choice,' just another way of doing things, when in fact that's bullshit. Divorce is an extremely unhappy, extremely stressful, extremely problematic thing. Thank god it's an option for some people. But...it impacts people's mental health. The least it does it create problems around intimacy until the fourth decade of life. It tends to normalize after that. But it takes people to their 30s or 40s to, under the best of situations, to expunge the experience. That's a lot of suffering. And that's often a lot of failed relationships and other failed relationships and more children exposed to divorce. The problem with divorce is that people consider it an option. You just shouldn't consider it an option unless it's absolutely necessary.

On why we find reading about divorce stories so fascinating:

Humans are interested in drama. Drama is not healthy people acting healthy. That's boring. And divorces are dramas. Divorces are painful. Our attention goes to humans in pain, so that's what that is.

Comments

[checkplease]

01:49 PM on 01/12/2011

Angie has struggled with anorexia in her 20's as she has said herself. A couple of years ago she was also once again struggling with anorexia when she was down to under 100 lbs. What does this tell you about lifelong problems? It tells me that once you have a problem, it's entirely possible to relive the same problem under stressful situations. Unless one's coping mechanisms completely change, through counseling or some sort of recovery treatment, it's very likely that the patterns will reemerge under stress.

[yorkriver1]

09:20 AM on 01/03/2011

Another "celebrity", in this case, one who is involved in a treatment center, books, TV/radio shows, etc., inserting themself into news stories that have nothing to do with them. I agree that him gossiping in the guise of "diagnosing" someone is unethical.
There is no complete agreement about addiction and recovery methods. As with many disorders of the mind and body people are much more complex than the artificial categories we set up to describe symptoms.
Reports that are easily searched on the internet tell of non-addicts who need help tapering off doctor prescribed opiate pain meds. Those who have had surgery that requires opiate type pain medication for more than two weeks have withdrawal symptoms if not weaned off slowly. Most don't go on to lifelong addiction. One could develop withdrawal symptoms from regular heroin use and decide to quit, but that doesn't by definition make them a lifelong addict in need of a certain type of recovery. Further, Angelina's characterization of herself in that way doesn't mean she's right about that. Regular use doesn't make one an addict, and if one can just quit, maybe they are a heavy user, not a full on addict. The distinction between addicts and heavy users is significant. One often needs lifelong help, the other doesn't.
Criticizing those we've never met, always a risk. Better to attract with honey than vinegar.

[Nancy Parris]

12:45 PM on 12/31/2010

I think it is dangerous and irresponsible to work a diagnosis on people you have not personally counseled and to make them public is unacceptable. I also believe that is it or should be considered unethical. It amounts to nothing more than gossip that is trying to become legitimized no matter the credentials of the gossiper. Some opinions should be kept private unless one is trying to create opportunity at the expense of others. Perhaps the good doctor should study parasites instead.

[laddieluv]

10:02 PM on 01/01/2011

Agree completely.

[cebaugh]

02:09 PM on 12/30/2010

Sorry, Dr. Drew - there are many people who were hooked on heroin and quit "cold turkey" - for instance John Lennon and Yoko Ono - and never went back to it. He even wrote hit song about kicking it. John became a happy house husband and raised his son until his murder. I used to like and respect you but it's apparent that you hang these negative labels on celebrities and DO NOT know what you're talking about. It is possible to be an ex-heroin user and not continue to be in structured "recovery" for the rest of your life. Wake up and smell the coffee - you just lost your credibility.

[Num1Christy]

10:10 PM on 12/30/2010

I think Dr. Drew is talking about heroin addicts in the same light as alcoholics, someone who is an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic... it's a life lived in recovery. My sister was a heroin addict for 5 years, 10 years later she still goes to NA meetings bc she still considers herself an addict. There is no such thing as "cold turkey", it is a fight every day to maintain sobriety, it's never easy. Until you've lived it or until you see it I don't think you can fully comprehend how life altering addiction is.

[Brian Selsor]

01:48 PM on 02/03/2011

I WAS an alcoholic. I went to treatment twice. I don't go to meetings. And I DID quit cold turkey about 20 years ago. The program is just a crutch. Like when you break a leg you need help walking until it heals. It's just the same with AA and such. Addicts need to stop using the "crutches" and learn to walk again.

[jukesgrrl]

01:20 AM on 01/01/2011

Yes, it certainly IS possible to be an ex-heroin user (or an ex-drinker or an ex-smoker or a person who used to be 100 pounds overweight). But a person doesn't get to be ANY of those thing in the first place unless they are an addictive personality. No mentally healthy person mainlines heroin. No mentally healthy person allows themselves to become 100 pounds overweight. There are issues. What he's saying is that unless the underlying issues are addressed, the obsession will just move to another object or behavior (over-spending, careless affairs, mistreatment of family members, etc.)

[Brian Selsor]

01:50 PM on 02/03/2011

I agree with you. It is true that most addictive personalities move from one addiction to the next. Until they treat the cause the effect will be the same.

[lrgphd]

05:46 AM on 12/29/2010

I agree with all of the comments about Pinsky diagnosing people he has never met - and someone else apparently did too, since he's doing similar backtracking to what "Dr. Phil" had to do when he "diagnosed" Brittany Spears on television. The CA medical board is often more lenient than the mental health boards are on such issues, but Pinsky is walking a dangerous ethical line and this particular couple probably has the resources to have him held accountable.

[miastella]

05:55 PM on 12/28/2010

What is it about TV therapy that people buy??? What BS!!! I could stand on a table with a lamp shade on my head and say cr2p too! But, this d0pe doesn't know these people, although his enormous ego would like to believe he can generalize from whom he does know. . . how dare he make all these statements about these individuals!!! He gives therapists a bad name and crosses ethical boundaries so badly he could be sued.

[Brian Selsor]

01:52 PM on 02/03/2011

I don't agree with the doctor, but I also think all therapists are quacks.

[gemini68]

01:55 PM on 12/27/2010

I like Dr. Drew but his pulling sound bits of things that people "allegedly" said in interviews as diagnosis of issues is irresponsible in the extreme.

[rnmina]

09:42 AM on 12/26/2010

Dr Drew is a Maroon: he deserves no respect as a shrink, EVER!
Astrologer, psychic maybe, but not as a shrink. He's shameless and should quietly go away.

[riverhouse]

03:39 PM on 12/26/2010

A Maroon? Really? Who would have thought.

[Brian Selsor]

01:53 PM on 02/03/2011

All shrinks are maroons!

[sirod72]

12:48 AM on 12/25/2010

When is Huffington Post going to post Pinsky's apology to Jolie and Pitt about his remarks being "taken out of context," the admission that he did not really know these two actors, and that his comments were therefore not meant to sound like a diagnosis? Is editorial ego getting in the way of responsible journalism here? Or is HP trying to say that it is in no way engaged in journalism?

[appacom]

10:11 AM on 12/26/2010

" Is editorial ego getting in the way of responsible journalism? Or is HP trying to say it is in on way engaged in journalism?"
#3 fan, and faved.

[gemini68]

01:56 PM on 12/27/2010

Faved and fanned. I like Dre. Drew but it is getting harder and harder for me to respect and trust him as a legitimate Dr (which he legally is, unlike Dr. Phil). I feel that he uses his opinion as a way of promoting himself. And his Celebrity Rehab show is a joke.

[dadw5boys]

09:39 PM on 12/24/2010

Seeing things like this make me glad I can actually produce something of value to others.

[joedawg88]

03:13 PM on 12/24/2010

This guy isn't equipped to give advice to a hat rack.

[Libby123]

12:23 AM on 01/03/2011

Maybe he could advise the hatrack about its... wait for it... hangups!!! HA! I kill me...

[hllmyn]

01:34 PM on 12/24/2010

It amazes me that Dr Drew can analyze Brad and Angelina's relationship based on information he gleans from tabloids.

[deusXmchna]

12:20 PM on 12/24/2010

Plenty of people have walked away from addictions. To take a stand that one can never be a "former" addict is undercutting the power of people. Some folks might need lifelong "recovery", that's fine- whatever it takes. Some folks might need to just crawl out of the hole, dust themselves off, and continue with life. To shackle one permanently to that hole, and to posit that there will always be a chain, no matter how far it may stretch, just sets people up for failure.
Of course without that failure, Drew wouldn't have much of a job.

[prisonfood]

11:58 AM on 12/24/2010

On Brad and Angelina: What dime psychology! Happy, long-lasting couples tend to seek out new experiences with one another, and in intentionally or unintentionally doing so they become closer and create a strong common narrative. That's what they're supposed to do. But Dr. Drew cites this as evidence that Brangelina are headed for some epic breakup. So what is it, "Doctor": Are all happy couples seeking out a life of shared experiences just setting themselves up for greater failures? Are we supposed to sit on the couch and just listen to half-ass radio shows about pop psychology instead?

[checkplease]

03:53 PM on 12/23/2010

Mia Farrow is a great humanitarian. She's donated and visited third world countries. As a single woman she's adopted at least 10 children, some of which have lifelong serious disabilities. Has any of this made headline news? No. What has made headline news was her partner Woody Allen, who infamously took pictures of Mia's daughter and went on to have a relationship with her. We are more interested in scandal. Why haven't we heard about Mia since then? She's since continued to adopt, and never ceased her humanitarian efforts. We don't hear about her mainly because she's not a person whom the public is fascinated by. She's not wrapped up in a "glamorous persona" package. Herein lies the crux of the problem. We've come a long way regarding racial issues, discrimination against minorities, gays, the disabled, but not far enough. One barrier that needs to be abolished is our apparent fascination with celebrities who embody the beautiful, glamorous persona, or just our plain obsession with putting beauty on a pedestal.

[Reality10]

07:31 AM on 12/24/2010

Obviously, you didn't read enough about Mia Farrow if you idealize her so much. Just like someone else who shall remain nameless, she became a great humanitarian and a mother of many adopted children only after she broke the marriage of the musician Andre Previn. He was still married to his wife when Farrow had an affair with him and got pregnant with his baby - the Previn twins. So in many ways she has the same contrived persona as her modern counterpart, who we are discussing here right now. Now go complete your homework unless you want to be caught the same way again.

[checkplease]

04:46 PM on 12/24/2010

What? What does anything you wrote have to do with my statement? I said that we, as a people, are only concerned with the "glamorous persona". Mia is not perceived as a "glamorous person". What does anything you've said have to do with my statement? Please get a braain.

[PatA]

11:05 AM on 12/29/2010

OMG, a teacher amongst us.

[TORAHTID]

07:39 AM on 12/24/2010

Beauty has always trumped ugly. Its as old as Time. Even babies smile at a pretty face and cry on seeing an ugly face. Not to mention when they sense an ugly Spirit.

Anyhooo, bottomline is, Mia (who remains a beautiful woman inside and out, btw) had her heyday before we even conceived of the internet. Even so, during her youth she was a "scarlett woman" for the number of men she had relationships with. If she had lived her youth in the age of the internet, she would have been tarred and feathered by people who love to sit in judgement of others.

Interestingly, Mia adopted umpteen children (literally, the number of children she adopted numbers in the teens). Angie has only adopted three children and yet, she gets ridiculed for 'her army of adopted children'. So again, if we had the internet when mia was adopting, can you imagine the public opprobrium she would face? Be happy for her that she is out of the limelight.

[checkplease]

04:56 PM on 12/24/2010

Again. What does this have to do with what I've written? Mia is still doing humanitarian work that obviously doesn't get attention RIGHT NOW, because she's not a "glamorous person". This is a problem with our society, in that we are only concerned with what "glamorous people do. Princess Diana is another example. Her death trumped Mother Theresa's. I'm not religious, so I'm not being biased. Just stating a fact, that society favors both beauty, and I should have added youth also. Why do you assume I'm a person who is against adoption? I've thought of adopting rather than having my own since before Angie. I'm not following what people are extrapolating from my posts. ?????