Melanie Griffith Went To Rehab To Avoid Relapsing On Painkillers

This sounds like a smart move, and her whole family is behind her, so we're glad the 52-year-old actress is getting the help she needs.

Antonio Banderas sat down with Ellen DeGeneres and revealed that his wife of fifteen years is back in rehab to avoid getting hooked on narcotics after several knee operations stemming from a skiing accident a year and a half ago. On today's Ellen DeGeneres Show, Antonio said Melanie was "obligated to use narcotics," and she became worried so she headed back to treatment as a precaution.

"In March, she came to me and said, 'I'm feeling a little bit weak in my determination for this...so I just thought to go to rehabilitation by myself,'" Antonio said. "So the whole entire family is supporting her and I am supporting her and at this particular time more than ever. I'm very proud of her."

"We have been following some type of therapy with other families," he added. "There are a number of invisible heroes working in AA all around the world. I just say to families, don't get embarrassed just confront this problem head-on. And don't hide from that because there is a beautiful gift at the end of this tunnel and it is the person that you love back and that is what I am searching for. I am very proud of my wife."

Maybe Melanie was worried that she might head down the same path as DJ AM or Michael Jackson if she wasn't careful? These recent celebrity deaths have perhaps opened people's eyes to the dangers of post-op painkillers, especially when there is a history of addiction. Would DJ AM have relapsed if he hadn't needed meds to help him get through the burns he suffered following that horrific plane crash? Would Michael Jackson ever have been introduced all sorts of narcotics had he not gone through the pyrotechnics accident on the set of the Pepsi commercial that left him with third degree burns? Just something to think about!

Get better Mel! We're rooting for you!

Image courtesy of Michael Rozman/Warner Bros