KJ Apa shares how son changed life: 'Sasha saved my life'

KJ Apa shared how becoming a fatherhood turned his life around.

As per a new report of Bang Premier, the 28-year-old Riverdale alum revealed that the birth of his son Sasha, now 4, whom he shares with ex-partner Clara Berry, pushed him to re-evaluate his lifestyle and make lasting changes.

“It forced me to chill. It also forced me to get sober,” Apa told Andy Cohen during a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy.

 “A lot of things that I realised I had to button up, I buttoned up. Yes, and I realised that there’s no other way for me to do it,” he added. 

The actor admitted he had been swept up in the trappings of fame after Riverdale’s success, spending much of his early 20s partying. But Sasha’s arrival shifted everything.

“Sasha being a gift that saved my life. I truly believe having Sasha saved my life,” he said. 

“You have a kid and then suddenly you understand the idea of murder — you can empathise with why someone would kill someone… because you love someone so much. And that’s the same feeling that I go, ‘I love you so much more than me.’ I have to sacrifice all these things for you. And that’s what a good parent does.”

Reflecting on becoming a father at 24, Apa acknowledged that it set him apart from many of his peers. 

“It comes with its pros and cons,” he noted.

Apa and Berry were first linked in 2019, but in May 2024, the model confirmed they had split, adding that “everything is better” between them now.