Jerry O'Connell Says He Had to Get Hypnotized to Quit Smoking After Rebecca Romijn Threatened to Not Sleep with Him
Jerry O'Connell Says He Had to Get Hypnotized to Quit Smoking After Rebecca Romijn Threatened to Not Sleep with Him
Virginia ChamleeWed, February 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell attend Sam Rubin's celebration of life
Kevin Winter/Getty
Jerry O'Connell is recounting the one time he got hypnotized — and it worked
In a new interview, the actor shared that he tried hypnotism after his wife told him he had to stop smoking or else she would no longer sleep with him
He hasn't had a cigarette, he says now, in 14 years
Jerry O’Connell is opening up about how — and why — he quite smoking.
The 51-year-old actor spoke about his former habit on the Friday, Feb. 13 episode of the Work In Progress podcast with host Sophia Bush.
"You know, I struggled with nicotine for decades, struggled with it, had to get hypnotized," he said, adding: "Haven't had a ciggy in, like, 14 years."
He added that the one who pushed him to quit was his wife, Rebecca Romijn, 14 years ago.
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Jerry O'Connell
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
"My wife said she would not touch me if I smoked, and that lasted about two months," he said. "And by the way — no contact. My wife said, I'm not touching you anymore until you quit smoking. And I thought it was a joke. Then after, like, two weeks, there was no physical contact. After about three and a half weeks, I was like, I gotta do something."
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While he tried to quit on his own, O'Connell said he couldn't do it — until he brought in an expert.
"I knew a girl who had quit smoking and I called her up and I said, 'How did you do it?' And she said, 'I'm gonna give you the number of this lady [a hypnotist].' And I went to see her and I had to bring a photo of my children and my wife.," he said. "And I sat down on her... recliner, and she put her headphones on me and there was, like, spa music. And she was like, 'Count to nine, eight...' and I fell asleep."
He continued: "I woke up, and I was like, that was baloney. What a joke. I can't believe I just gave some old lady $800. What a waste of money."
"I walked to my car. I got in it. I had a pack [cigarettes], put the ciggy in my mouth, brought the lighter up... I couldn't light it... I swear to you. I swear to you. I've never been hypnotized for anything else," he added.
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O'Connell and his wife tied the knot in July 2007, and welcomed their twin daughters, Charlie Tamara Tulip and Dolly Rebecca Rose, 16, in December 2008.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
