Will Arnett Opens Up About Starting Therapy: ‘It’s Been a Tough Couple Weeks’

Will Arnett is getting vulnerable as he opens up about his journey with therapy.

“I just started therapy,” Arnett, 54, shared on the Monday, August 19, episode of the “SmartLess” podcast . “I’m going to get real for a second. I don’t know anything. This is the most scared I’ve been in my life is right now.”

While chatting with his cohosts Jason Bateman , Sean Hayes and special guest Rashida Jones , Arnett revealed he had “heavy therapy” hours before taping his latest podcast episode.

“It’s really scary. I’m doing, like, I can’t even believe I’m talking about this,” he said. “I’m petrified.”

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Bateman, 55, offered support to his longtime friend and asked if his nerves were partly because “you’re admitting that you might not know as much as you’re pretending to know.” Arnett agreed and replied, “Yep, that’s the tip of it.”

Hayes, 54, who said he’s been in therapy, supported Arnett’s journey and advised him to “embrace the fear.” Jones added that the nerves are good because “we’re all scared.”

“Good for you for doing the work because you could just slide by and you could probably be ok and live in denial for the rest of your life,” she continued. “The fact that you’re going deep right now means you’re going to rebuild and be the best version of yourself.”

Visibly touched by the support of his peers, Arnett admitted that he “had to put eye drops in” before the podcast taping after a “rough” therapy session. At the same time, he knows he’s making a difference in his life.

“I had a really rough morning,” he added. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks.”

Another person who appears to be supportive of Arnett’s therapy journey is his ex-wife Amy Poehler . The couple, who split in 2012 after nine years of marriage, remains friendly as they coparent their sons Archie, 15, and Abel, 14.

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“The best part is I told Poehler yesterday and she said, ‘I’m so glad,’” Arnett said when recalling the conversation with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you’re so glad?’”

While it’s unclear what specifically led Arnett to therapy, the conversation came up after Jones, 48, opened up about common questions people start asking themselves as they approach their 50s, like, ‘Who am I?’

“I don’t know,” the Sunny actress said when asked about what she wants to do next. “I’m having that moment right now where I’m like I don’t know anything.”