[]
Honest about his ups and downs. Jason Ritter has celebrated his triumphs and been candid about his shortcomings over the years.
During a March 2023 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the Raise Your Voice actor moved his wife, Melanie Lynskey, to tears by opening up about how his struggles with alcoholism affected the early stages of their romance.
“I knew how incredible Melanie was early on,” the Joan of Arcadia alum told host Drew Barrymore when she asked about the moment he knew the Last of Us actress was The One. “But it’s not as cute of a story as you would like to think. It was messy and interesting and weird. But mixed in [with] the mix was — I was dealing with some alcoholism issues.”
The California native explained that he didn’t feel like he “deserved” Lynskey during their initial courtship. But after giving up alcohol in late 2013, he began to reexamine his potential to be a good partner.
“It was only after maybe a year into not drinking where I started to go, ‘Oh, maybe I can promise some things to someone else. Maybe I can be this person,’” he shared, getting emotional. “I knew that she was incredible. It was working on myself enough to feel like maybe I could be The One for her too.”
{ let bidders = [‘a9’, ‘ix’, ‘iris’]; // create a requestManager to keep track of bidder state to determine when to send ad server // request and what amazonSlots to request from the ad server var requestManager = { adserverRequestSent: false, }; //loop through bidder array and add the bidders to the request manager: bidders.forEach( function( bidder ) { requestManager[bidder] = false; } ); // return true if all bidders have returned function allBiddersBack() { var allBiddersBack = bidders // get the booleans from the object .map( function( bidder ) { return requestManager[bidder]; } ) // get rid of false values – indicates that the bidder has responded .filter( Boolean ) // if length is equal to bidders, all bidders are back .length === bidders.length; return allBiddersBack; } // handler for header bidder responses function headerBidderBack( bidder ) { // return early if request to adserver is already sent if ( requestManager.adserverRequestSent === true ) { return; } // flip bidder back flag if ( bidder === ‘a9’ ) { requestManager.a9 = true; console.log(‘second promise a9 ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘ix’ ) { requestManager.ix = true; console.log(‘second promise ix ready’); } else if ( bidder === ‘iris’ ) { requestManager.iris = true; console.log(‘second promise iris ready’); } // if all bidders are back, send the request to the ad server if ( allBiddersBack() ) { resolve( url ); } } if ( typeof apstag == ‘object’ && apstag ) { apstag.fetchBids({ slots: [{ slotID: window.prerollTag[vHash], mediaType: ‘video’ }] }, function( bids ) { console.log( “AMI jwp amazon bid callback”, new Date().getTime(), bids ); window.jwpBids[vHash].amazon = true; if ( bids.length > 0 ) { //If we have received any bids back try { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon bid request ad”, bids[0].encodedQsParams); url = url + ‘&scp=’ + bids[0].encodedQsParams; } catch ( e ) { console.log(e); } } else { console.log(“AMI jwp amazon no bids”); } headerBidderBack(‘a9’); }); } else { headerBidderBack(‘a9’); } headertag.cmd.push( function() { headertag.retrieveVideoDemand( [{‘htSlotName’: ‘preroll’}], function( demand ) { console.log( “AMI jwp IX callback”, demand ); if ( ‘undefined’ !== typeof demand.preroll && demand.preroll.length ){ window.jwpBids[vHash].ixBids = demand.preroll[0].targeting.price; console.log( ‘AMI jwp IX Bids’, new Date().getTime(), demand.preroll[0].targeting ); var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } var keys = Object.keys( demand.preroll[0].targeting.price ); for ( var key of keys ) { custParams.set( key, demand.preroll[0].targeting.price[key][0]); } vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, custParams.toString() ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘ix’); } ); } ); // Get main item context data window.irisContext.getContext(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem().mediaid).then(function(data) { // Encode the context data console.log( ‘AMI jwp IrisTV Bids’, new Date().getTime(), data.context ); // Replace the server url with the context data (this is for simple ad requests), // If you have the serverUrl dynamically configured, then you will need to append the context data // under cust_params, so this is just for testing purpose if ( data.context && Object.keys( data.context ).length ) { var vastURL = new URL( url ); var vastParams = new URLSearchParams( vastURL.search ); if ( vastParams.has( ‘cust_params’ ) ) { var custParams = new URLSearchParams( vastParams.get( ‘cust_params’ ) ); } else { var custParams = new URLSearchParams(); } custParams.set( ‘iris_context’, data.context.join(‘,’)); vastParams.set( ‘cust_params’, decodeURIComponent( custParams.toString() ) ); vastURL.search = vastParams.toString(); url = vastURL.toString(); } headerBidderBack(‘iris’); }); setTimeout(function(){ resolve( url ); }, 10000); }); } var player_jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div = jwplayer(el).setup(videoParams).on(“ready”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); ns_.StreamingAnalytics.JWPlayer( playerInstance, { publisherId: “6036076”, labelmapping: “ns_st_pu=”AMI”, c3=”Us Weekly”, ns_st_ge=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ia=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_ce=”” + decodeURIComponent( “1” ) + “”, ns_st_ddt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “”, ns_st_tdt=”” + decodeURIComponent( “%2Anull” ) + “””, }); }).on(‘adsManager’, (e) => { var vHash = ‘ami’ + decodeURIComponent( ‘DpVIeXgq’ ); const { adsManager, videoElement } = e; const iasConfig = { anId: ‘928572’, campId: `${jwplayer().getWidth()}x${jwplayer().getHeight()}`, // This is dynamic based on player dimensions, but can be hard coded chanId: window.prerollTag[vHash], placementId: ‘Open Auction’, pubOrder: ‘Video’, pubId: ‘Direct’ }; if (googleImaVansAdapter) { googleImaVansAdapter.init(window.google, adsManager, videoElement, iasConfig); } }).on( ‘time’, function( e ) { var id = this.id; var pct = Math.round( e.position ); if ( ! window.amiPlayersData ) { window.amiPlayersData = {}; } if ( ! window.amiPlayersData[id] ) { window.amiPlayersData[id] = { m3: false, m10: false }; } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] === false && pct >= 3 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m3’] = true; console.log( ‘3sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ‘3s played’} ); } if ( window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] === false && pct >= 10 ) { window.amiPlayersData[id][‘m10’] = true; console.log( ’10sec played: ‘, id ); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; dataLayer.push( {event: ‘JWPlayEvent’, jwTime: ’10s played’} ); } }).on( ‘complete’, function( e ) { if ( window.amiPlayersData && window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ] ) { window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m3’] = false; window.amiPlayersData[ this.id ][‘m10’] = false; console.log( ‘clear played: ‘, this.id ); } }).once(“play”, function(){ var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var playerInstance = jwplayer(el); loadIrisPlugin(playerInstance, playerInstance.getConfig().plugins[“https://ovp.iris.tv/plugins/jwplayer/v2/iris-jwplayer8.adaptive.min.js”]) }).on(‘play’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language:”English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video play”); }).on(‘complete’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); // skip if the video was paused and trying to resume if (jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘idle’ && jwplayer(el).getState() !== ‘complete’) { return; } window.permutive.track(“VideoComplete”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; }).on(‘time’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.currentTime/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 === progress && false === window.lock_25) || (0.5 === progress && false === window.lock_50) || (0.75 === progress && false === window.lock_75) || (100 === progress && false === window.lock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 === progress ) { window.lock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 === progress ) { window.lock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 === progress ) { window.lock_75 = true; } if ( 1 === progress ) { window.lock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video play progress ” + progress); } }).on(‘mute’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.mute) ? “sound off” : “sound on”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘fullscreen’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoEvent”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play event: (e.fullscreen) ? “fullscreen on” : “fullscreen off”, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() } }); console.log(“Permutive video event:”, e); }).on(‘ready’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); console.log(jwInfo); window.lock_25 = false; window.lock_50 = false; window.lock_75 = false; window.lock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoLoad”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video load event”); }).on(‘adPlay’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); window.adInfo = e; var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.adlock_25 = false; window.adlock_50 = false; window.adlock_75 = false; window.adlock_100 = false; window.permutive.track(“VideoAdPlay”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad play”); }).on(‘adClick’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); window.permutive.track(“VideoAdClick”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); console.log(“Permutive video ad click”); }).on(‘adTime’, (e) => { var el = decodeURIComponent( “jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div” ); var vHash = “ami” + decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ); var jwInfo = jwplayer(el).getPlaylistItem(jwplayer(el).getPlaylistIndex()); var progress = (e.position/e.duration).toFixed(2); if ( (0.25 >= progress && false === window.adlock_25) || (0.5 >= progress && false === window.adlock_50) || (0.75 >= progress && false === window.adlock_75) || (0.95 >= progress && false === window.adlock_100) ) { window.permutive.track(“VideoAdProgress”, { play_id: el, //this will stay constant for all of the events emitted during the same video play progress: Number(progress), ad: { duration: Math.round(window.adInfo.duration), creative_name: window.adInfo.adtitle, ad_id: window.adInfo.adId, title: window.adInfo.adtitle, video_type: “instream” //outstream }, video: { duration: Math.round(jwInfo.duration), // in seconds name: jwInfo.title, video_id: decodeURIComponent( “DpVIeXgq” ), description: jwInfo.description, published_at: new Date(jwInfo.pubdate).toISOString() }, enriched_data:{ tvchannel: decodeURIComponent( “Us%20Weekly” ), //tv channel name language: “English”, //language of the content type: “video”, keywords: jwInfo.tags.split(“,”), //keywords for the page } }); if ( 0.25 >= progress ) { window.adlock_25 = true; } if ( 0.5 >= progress ) { window.adlock_50 = true; } if ( 0.75 >= progress ) { window.adlock_75 = true; } if ( 0.95 >= progress ) { window.adlock_100 = true; } console.log(“Permutive video ad progress ” + progress); } }).setPlaylistItemCallback(function(item, index) { return waitForAmazon // Wait until Amazon is loaded. .then(() => performAsyncBidding( player_jwplayer_DpVIeXgq_zhNYySv2_div, item, index ), () => { console.log(“AMI JWP bidding FAILER”); }) // External bidding. .then(tag => { // Update the playlist item. console.log(“AMI jwp new headerbid”, tag); return Object.assign({}, item, { adschedule: [{ tag, offset: “pre” }] }); }).catch(function(e){ console.log(“AMI jwp bidding failed”, e); return item; }); // If bidding fails, use unmodified playlist item. });; clearInterval(checkJWReady); } }, 500); })(); ]]>
Ritter and the Togetherness alum got engaged in 2017 before spontaneously tying the knot on their front porch in 2020. The duo welcomed their daughter, whose name has not been publicly revealed, in 2018.
The You’re Not You actor shared a glimpse into how fatherhood had transformed him on his first Father’s Day in June 2019.
“I’m putting this here as a record of my gratitude to my daughter who is making this the best #FathersDay in quite a while and to @melanielynskey who has changed my life forever in the best way. I’m so lucky to have you both in my life,” he wrote via Twitter at the time.
The New York University alum lost his own father, actor John Ritter, when the Three’s Company alum died suddenly of aortic dissection in 2003. He was 54.
During an August 2020 conversation with ET Canada, Jason revealed the “main thing” he learned from his parents that he continues to pass down to his daughter.
“A huge thing from my dad and mom [Nancy Morgan] is how they always made sure we knew we were loved,” he shared. “They said it a million times. You can pass all kinds of stuff onto your kids, but the feeling of being loved, unconditionally, is so important — knowing you can mess up or fail and they’ll never go, ‘Well, we loved you until that moment. Too bad!’”
Sign up for Us Weekly’s free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!
Keep scrolling to see Ritter’s ups and downs over the years:
