Avril Lavigne Supports Ex-Husband Deryck Whibley After He Hits "Rock Bottom," Almost Dies From Effects of Alcoholism

Singer, now married to Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, is "so proud" of ex for vowing to quit drinking

By Rebecca Macatee May 20, 2014 6:15 PMTags
Avril Lavigne, Deryck Whibley Denise Truscello/Getty Images

Avril Lavigne is no longer married to Deryck Whibley, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still care about the Sum 41 rocker.

Whibley, 34, recently hit "rock bottom," he wrote on his blog May 16, revealing he nearly died from the affects of alcoholism and had been in the hospital for one month.

The very next day, Lavigne, who is now married to Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, tweeted her love and support for her ex-husband. "Spoke to @Sum41 Deryck today," the 29-year-old singer wrote, "I am so proud of him. He is family to me and always will be. #StayStrongDeryck."

Whibley, who wrote that his liver and kidneys "collapsed" after his "hard boozing" habits "finally caught up" to him, said the traumatic experience "scared me straight."

"i finally realized i can't drink anymore," he wrote. "if i have one drink the doc's say i will die. i'm not preaching or anything but just always drink responsibly. i didn't, and look where that got me. (i never thought i would ever say that! haha)"

Lavigne isn't the only one rallying to support Whibley in his sobriety—his fiancée Jocelyn Aguiler is by his side, and Sum 41 fans are encouraging the star to get healthy, too, under the Twitter hashtag #StayStrongDeryck.

And after Whibley recovers from this scary setback, he hopes to back to making music, writing, "I already have a few song ideas for new songs. soon it will be time to start making an album and getting back to touring again."

We wish him the very best in his recovery.