Kelly Osbourne has opened up about the devastating impact of her father Ozzy Osbourne’s death, revealing that the grief became so overwhelming that she relapsed into alcohol and reached a point where she could barely function.
The 41-year-old spoke candidly about the darkest period of her grief during an appearance on Paul C. Brunson’s We Need to Talk podcast on September 15. Kelly explained that losing her father in July 2025 left her feeling completely broken and unable to take care of herself.
“I was a shell of myself,” Kelly said, describing how she struggled to speak, eat or do even the most basic things. She said she felt “empty” and “broken in every way,” eventually reaching what she described as “ground zero.”
The grief also triggered a relapse after she had previously maintained sobriety. Kelly admitted that she “started drinking again” because she could not cope with the pain of losing her father.
“I lost my mind. I couldn’t handle it,” she recalled.
Ozzy died on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76. His death came just weeks after he had performed his final concert with the original members of Black Sabbath at the band’s farewell show in Birmingham, England.
For Kelly, however, Ozzy was much more than a legendary rock musician. She described him as her father, her best friend, her protector, her biggest supporter and her hero.
The depth of that relationship helps explain why his death affected her so profoundly.
Kelly revealed that she has since managed to regain her sobriety and is now eight months sober. She credited the people closest to her for helping her through the darkest period, explaining that she deliberately made her social circle smaller while dealing with her grief.
She also pushed back against the expectation that grief should eventually disappear.
“I will never be over it,” she said, explaining that losing her father fundamentally changed her.
Kelly has previously spoken about the physical toll the grief took on her as well. In another recent interview, she revealed that she lost a significant amount of weight after Ozzy’s death and said she did not even realize how much her appearance had changed because she was consumed by emotional pain.
During the podcast, Kelly also recalled one of the final conversations she shared with Ozzy, just three days before his death. She said her father sat her down and told her that she would always be able to remember that there was someone in the world who truly loved her exactly as she was.
Kelly became emotional as she remembered the conversation, telling her father not to speak as though he was preparing to leave. Three days later, he was gone.
Now, Kelly is trying to turn her devastating experience into something that could help others. She revealed plans for a three-part documentary series exploring her grief, with the hope that sharing her journey might help people who are also struggling after losing someone they love.
Her story is a deeply personal reminder that grief does not follow a timetable — and for Kelly, losing Ozzy was not simply the loss of a famous father.
It was the loss of the person she called her best friend, protector, biggest cheerleader and hero.
