Sydney Sweeney opens up about family breakup after early fame

Sydney Sweeney reveals how fame led to her parents' divorce

Sydney Sweeney may be one of Hollywood’s brightest young stars today, but behind the glitz and global fame lies a deeply emotional story of sacrifice, struggle, and family heartbreak.

The “Euphoria” actress recently opened up about the intense pressure her childhood dreams placed on her family, pressure that eventually led to financial collapse and her parents’ separation. Speaking on the December 1 episode of the Awards Chatter podcast while promoting her upcoming film Christy, Sweeney shared how chasing her acting goals came at a cost she carried for years.

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Sydney revealed that her family uprooted their entire life and moved to Los Angeles to support her ambition of becoming an actress. What followed, however, was far from easy. The sharp contrast in living expenses between a small town and a major city quickly hit her family hard.

“Prices in L.A. are crazy, nothing like where I came from,” she admitted.

The financial strain worsened when her father, Steven Sweeney, lost his job shortly after the move. By the time Sydney was just 16, her parents had filed for bankruptcy. Not long after, their marriage also came to an end.

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“My family filed for bankruptcy when I was 16. Then they filed for divorce, and I felt like a lot of it was my fault,” she shared with raw honesty. “I brought them to the city and changed their entire lives, and I blamed myself for a long time.”

That guilt, she says, became the fuel behind her relentless drive to succeed.

“I put so much pressure on myself to make it, to succeed, to fix everything that felt broken,” Sydney explained.

Despite her massive success today, the emotional impact of her parents’ separation still lingers. While reports from People reveal that Sydney has financially supported both her mother and father after the divorce, she admits that one thing remains impossible—bringing her family back together under one roof the way it once was.