Comedian Gabriel Iglesias knew it was time to take a break last year (17) after suffering a breakdown onstage during a show.
Years of constant touring, depression and alcoholism eventually took their toll on the Magic Mike star last spring and he was forced to postpone a series of shows and take care of his health.
Gabriel hasn't spoken about his breakdown until now, telling Billboard he knew he had hit a wall when his heavy drinking started to make him "sloppy".
"I was burned out dude, 20 years of the same thing with no breaks," he tells the outlet. "I wasn't being creative anymore. It was becoming work. And I wasn't spending enough time at home and that was taking its toll as well.
"I was also drinking a lot. I wasn't drinking to be social. I would drink because I just wanted to go to sleep. I was stressin' out so bad and the drinking was magnifying the problem. I was just gettin' sloppy, making poor decisions. I wasn't being the best person at home, and I wasn't being the best entertainer out on the road."
And then one night in Dallas, Texas his health issues came crashing down on him: "I got emotional on stage talking about the fact that my son is no longer a kid - now he's an adult, he's a man," the comic recalls, "and it hit me where I got choked up, I walked off stage, and I just I buckled.
"I fell down and was like, 'Oh my God, what am I doing with myself?' Yeah there's cars, yeah there's money, but am I still happy? I got a kid at home who has everything, but didn't have me around as much as he could've had."
He postponed shows, raced home and sat down for a heart-to-heart with his son, who he often pokes fun at in his act.
"(I said), 'I'm sorry for all the years of missing birthdays, years of me being gone on Christmas, years of me being away. I could've done better, and I could've been more involved'. And he was awesome. He hugged me said, 'It's OK'," he shares.
Iglesias then apologised to fans online, took some time off and got on top of his health issues with the help of a therapist. He has since made up the gigs he postponed and now he's back with his One Show Fits All World Tour, which launched over the weekend (13-14Jan18) in Las Vegas.
But he won't be joking about how great he feels now he's sober: "It sucks, because I enjoyed it, that little buzz feeling," he tells Billboard. "I'm not gonna be like, 'Sobriety is fantastic, it's the best thing ever'. No man, I miss having a drink. But I miss having a drink and having fun with my friends and being social.
"I don't miss that part the next morning when people are trying to wake you up and are worried if you're OK."
