By Mallory Mattingly
Twenty-seven years ago, SHIFTING GEARS star Tim Allen decided to get sober. Since then, his life has changed for the better, including his relationship with his two daughters.
Allen shares daughter Katherine Allen with his ex-wife, Laura Deibel, and daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick with his current wife, Jane Hajduk.
In an interview, Closer Weekly asked Allen, “Is fatherhood easier the second time around?”
“Yes, because I’m sober. I’ve been sober for 27 years,” he explained. “My first daughter, unfortunately, was not around a sober guy. So, they’re very different relationships.”
Katherine was born in 1989 while Elizabeth arrived 20 years later in 2009.
The actor’s journey to sobriety wasn’t easy, but Allen has “nothing but gratitude” for it.
“Somebody said if you’re going to do things that you have to say you’re sorry for tomorrow, don’t do it,” he said. “So I don’t do things like that. It’s been a struggle because not being able to hide behind drugs and alcohol was difficult for me. Now I deal with stuff. It’s moment by moment.”
While on THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW in 2020, Allen talked about how a sober life is a “day-to-day thing.”
“The program I practice, it’s all about as soon as you get it, you gotta give it away,” he explained. “A kid can’t hold on to all these toys, and every time he sees a new toy, and he goes, ‘Mine,’ you gotta drop one of those before you can grab another one.”
“It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a day-to-day thing,” Allen added. “But giving back what somebody gives you…I see this happen right here, this is a miracle. I see it in my particular program.”
Related: Tim Allen Calls Acting With Daughter ‘The Most Amazing Experience’
One of the biggest lessons Allen has learned from being a dad is “learning how to listen.”
“You really have to not say anything. My younger daughter and I just last night had this conversation,” Allen said. “She sat at the bottom of the stairs, I sat at the top. I said, ‘I will just listen.’ And I did. I just listened. Then she said, ‘Now you tell me what you think.'”
In his recent sitcom SHIFTING GEARS, Allen once again dons a father character. Kat Dennings, who plays his on-screen daughter, loves working with him.
“Tim Allen, I will say, is my favorite TV dad of all time. It’s been a real joy doing this show,” Dennings told PEOPLE. “We have a very funny banter. We really enjoy these scenes where we’re arguing. It’s really fun.”
Whether its as a real-life or on-screen dad, Allen knows life is better sober. Addiction of any kind can be debilitating, but sobriety is just one decision away. And like Allen, many people have seen the positive effects of saying no to that drink or that drug.
Read Next: Kat Dennings Joins Cast of Tim Allen Sitcom SHIFTING GEARS
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