Jake Roberts grateful for sobriety: It took ‘a lot of damn work’

Jake “The Snake” Roberts is grateful for his sobriety and remains confident that he’ll never go down the road of addiction again.

A new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet with Roberts as the guest was uploaded on Thursday. During their conversation, Roberts said he has “no fear” that his past struggles with addiction will resurface. The smell of alcohol makes Roberts sick at this point.

“You know, for me, the smell of alcohol turns my stomach,” he said. “I can walk through an airport blindfolded and I could tell you where the bars are at, because I can tell that smell, you know? And it upsets my stomach now. And I’m glad. That’s the last damn thing I need is to go down that road again. And I have no fear at all — maybe that’s not healthy, not having a fear of it — but I just feel so strongly that that’s something I’ll never do again.”

Roberts told Van Vliet that it took “a lot of damn work” to get to this point. It also required patience and the help of some good friends like Diamond Dallas Page. Without DDP helping him, Roberts is certain that he would have been dead long ago.

“A lot of damn work. It took a lot of work, and a lot of patience, and some good friends,” Roberts said. “No doubt in my mind, I’d have been dead several years ago [without DDP]. Several years ago. That’s just where I was going, man. And I was going fast, too.”

Roberts said everything he went through with drug and alcohol addiction has given him a greater appreciation for the life he has now. He’s battling COPD and emphysema but is able to stay busy and enjoy his hobbies like a 1965 Cadillac hot-rod that he owns.

The legendary Roberts remains part of AEW, signing a one-year contract extension with the promotion this March. He will turn 70 years old in 2025.

When Van Vliet asked the three things Roberts is most grateful for, he listed his sobriety, his children, and being able to have a second chance with his wife after they were separated for 24 years.