KJ Apa admitted becoming a father for the first time encouraged him to get on the straight and narrow.
The Riverdale alum, 28, spoke about how being a dad “forced” him “to get sober” during an appearance on the Thursday, August 14 edition of “Radio Andy” on SiriusXM.
Apa told host Andy Cohen, 57, that the birth of his 4-year-old son Sasha Vai Kenet was the catalyst behind him getting his act together. (Apa shares Sasha with his ex-girlfriend Clara Berry).
“It forced me to chill,” Apa said. “It also forced me to get sober.”
He continued: “A lot of things that I realized I had to button up, I buttoned up. Yes, and I realized that there’s no other way for me to do it.”
Apa confessed he got “lost” in the trappings of fame, fortune and success once Riverdale took off and spent a lot of time partying until Sasha was born in 2021.
“Sasha being a gift that saved my life. I truly believe having Sasha saved my life,” Apa added. “You know you have a kid and then suddenly you understand the idea of murder, you know that, like you can empathize with why someone would kill someone —”
He continued: “Because you love someone so much. And that’s the same feeling that I go, ‘I love you so much more than me.’ I have to sacrifice all these things for you. And that’s what a good parent does.”
Earlier in the interview, Apa reflected on being a young dad after welcoming Sasha when he was just 24.
“It comes with its pros and cons,” Apa admitted, noting that many of his friends that are the same age aren’t yet in that life stage.
Apa’s ex, Berry, 31, announced the arrival of Sasha in September 2021 via an Instagram post.
“Sasha Vai Keneti Apa, born on the 23rd of September,” Berry wrote at the time. “He is a perfect perfection. I am the luckiest to have now two men of my life, filling my heart with this cosmic gigantic vast love. ❤️🔥”
Months earlier, Apa revealed Berry’s pregnancy by sharing a mirror selfie via Instagram in May 2021. In the photo, Berry’s shirt was pulled up to show off her bare baby bump. Berry reshared the post via her own account and added emojis of kids and eggs in the caption.
While the former couple were first linked in 2019, Berry confirmed in May 2024 that they had called it quits.
When asked about the status of her relationship with Apa via a social media Q&A at the time, Berry confirmed they were no longer together and said “everything is better.”
The French native also touched on coparenting and how that dynamic between them is working out so far.
“I think it’s better to have parents, who are separated, who are happy and who can be the best version of themselves, than staying together in a situation that it not working,” Berry explained.
She added that some aspects of coparenting have been more difficult to grapple with than others.
“I am not with my son 50 percent of the time and therefore won’t know 50 percent of his life. That is something that is hard to accept,” she said, although she noted things were “going well” overall.
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