Ozzy Osbourne: Relapse Reports Are ‘Completely Inaccurate’

Ozzy Osbourne has denied rumors that a relapse caused he and his wife Sharon Osbourne to split after nearly 34 years of marriage. Following news that the Black Sabbath singer had moved out of the family home, Osbourne broke his silence to E! News, “I have been sober for three and a quarter years. I have not touched drugs or alcohol in that time. Any reports that I am not sober are completely inaccurate.”

Osbourne’s statement also arrived following a day rife with concern about the singer’s whereabouts, with The Sun among those reporting on Monday that Osbourne was “missing” after leaving the family home. However, later in the day, Osbourne was photographed walking with one of his dogs. E! News adds that, since his split with Sharon, Ozzy has been staying with an unnamed family member.

Following news of the Osbournes’ rift, Sharon didn’t appear on her daily talk show The Talk. Fellow co-host Julie Chen addressed Osbourne’s absence, telling the audience, “As we get started, Sharon is not here today. There were many tabloid headlines of her and Ozzy, rumors and speculations that they have split up after nearly 34 years of marriage. Sharon understandably took today off and we are sending all of our love to her and to her family. And we ask that you do the same.”

The Osbournes nearly split in 2013 after Ozzy admitted he had relapsed back into drug and alcohol abuse. However, the singer saved the marriage by entering into daily AA meetings. As Osbourne stressed in his Monday statement, he has remained sober since that incident three years ago.

Multiple tabloids, including The Sun, have reported that the recent split between Ozzy and Sharon was allegedly caused by an extramarital affair the singer had and not a relapse.