JamesG
06-01-2026, 04:31 PM
"One Day at a Time" Star Mackenzie Phillips says She and Valerie Bertinelli Did Cocaine on Lunch Breaks
by Leigh Blickley
June 1, 2026
Mackenzie Phillips isn't afraid to share personal details from her time on the 1970s sitcom "One Day at a Time".
During a recent interview, Phillips admitted that she and costar Valerie Bertinelli used to do drugs and drink alcohol on their lunch breaks. She shared the anecdote with Fox News Digital on Sunday when asked for a memory that might surprise fans.
"Oh, I don't know. Oh, okay. So this might surprise you that during lunch break, Valerie and I would drive to my house, get in the pool, drink wine, and snort coke," Phillips told the outlet.
She clarified that she wasn't out of line sharing that information, as Bertinelli has discussed her history with drug use.
"But Valerie talks about it openly, so it's not like I'm pulling her covers or anything," Phillips said. "The thing was that I was the, you know, Valerie didn't have the kind of addiction that I had. She didn't have addiction."
Mackenzie told Fox News Digital that she and Bertinelli would also snort cocaine in the dressing room, noting, "I just happened to be the one that got caught. And thank God I got caught, you know?"
During the third season in 1977, Phillips was arrested for disorderly conduct and, due to her drug and alcohol abuse, producers allegedly ordered her to take a six-week break after she began arriving late and was reportedly incoherent during rehearsals.
She was ultimately fired in 1980, went to rehab, and was invited back to the show a year later. But, after relapsing, Mackenzie was let go and her character, Julie Cooper Horvath, was written off the series.
https://ew.com/one-day-at-a-time-mackenzie-phillips-and-valerie-bertinelli-did-cocaine-on-lunch-breaks-11987697
by Leigh Blickley
June 1, 2026
Mackenzie Phillips isn't afraid to share personal details from her time on the 1970s sitcom "One Day at a Time".
During a recent interview, Phillips admitted that she and costar Valerie Bertinelli used to do drugs and drink alcohol on their lunch breaks. She shared the anecdote with Fox News Digital on Sunday when asked for a memory that might surprise fans.
"Oh, I don't know. Oh, okay. So this might surprise you that during lunch break, Valerie and I would drive to my house, get in the pool, drink wine, and snort coke," Phillips told the outlet.
She clarified that she wasn't out of line sharing that information, as Bertinelli has discussed her history with drug use.
"But Valerie talks about it openly, so it's not like I'm pulling her covers or anything," Phillips said. "The thing was that I was the, you know, Valerie didn't have the kind of addiction that I had. She didn't have addiction."
Mackenzie told Fox News Digital that she and Bertinelli would also snort cocaine in the dressing room, noting, "I just happened to be the one that got caught. And thank God I got caught, you know?"
During the third season in 1977, Phillips was arrested for disorderly conduct and, due to her drug and alcohol abuse, producers allegedly ordered her to take a six-week break after she began arriving late and was reportedly incoherent during rehearsals.
She was ultimately fired in 1980, went to rehab, and was invited back to the show a year later. But, after relapsing, Mackenzie was let go and her character, Julie Cooper Horvath, was written off the series.
https://ew.com/one-day-at-a-time-mackenzie-phillips-and-valerie-bertinelli-did-cocaine-on-lunch-breaks-11987697