Tearful Love Back to Rehab

Sat., Aug. 20, 2005 11:15 AM PDT by Joal Ryan

When Courtney Love said she'd been clean and sober for 365 days, apparently she didn't mean consecutively.

The rocker-actress was back in drug rehab after breaking down in a Los Angeles courtroom Friday morning and admitting to a relapse that violated her probation and flew in the face of recent public denials.

Per Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin's mandate, Love checked into a facility within hours of the court appearance. She's to undergo 28 days of treatment. For Love, the crackdown could have been harsher: Rubin talked aloud about sending Kurt Cobain's widow straight to jail, musing, "I think you need to hit rock bottom before you make a decision [about] what you're going to do in the future."

For the immediate future, Love is due back in court Sept. 16 for sentencing on a trio of probation violations. "I think you either need a long-term drug program, or a long term in county jail," Rubin warned.

Following the hearing, defense attorney Howard Weitzman told reporters that his star client was "serious," "sincere" and "pretty tenacious about getting her life in order."

Love's life seemed out of order back in July when she was rushed from a Hollywood hotel to a nearby hospital via an ambulance. At the time, the star's camp chalked up the scare to a general not-feeling-well malaise--nausea, dizziness, etc. But last week, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office said it suspected an unidentified "controlled substance" was at fault.

Given her legal status, Love can't afford such suspicions. The police-blotter frequenter is on probation for a misdemeanor assault conviction and two misdemeanor drug convictions. And while Love last month was found to be in compliance with the terms of one of the drug cases, Friday's admission of a slipup puts her in violation of all three.

Only eight months ago, Love, 41, was vowing to "move forward with [her] life in a healthy and positive way." Only a month ago, she was saying that her newly filled-out form was a sign that she was off drugs. Only 12 days ago, she was at the Comedy Central roast for Pamela Anderson, bellowing "I've been sober for a year!"

On Friday, there were no bold declarations, just a tear-choked voice when the judge asked if Love understood that she had violated her probation three times over by copping to drug use.

Replied Love: "Yes, your honor."