The olé olé years of Maripier Morin

When he was younger, Maripier Morin chained alcoholic comas, ” blackout on blackout on blackout until the day she snorted her first line of cocaine.

“Bingo, tabarnak, I’ve got it,” she said to herself.

The 36-year-old host, who was “a drinking disaster”, in her own words, thought she had solved her problems by replacing the booze with Colombian white powder. No more atrocious aftermaths and nights that ended, completely drunk, in a snow bank.

Serious mistake.

Maripier Morin has hit rock bottom and she talks about it with disarming frankness to France Castel in an excellent episode of The other noon at the next table, that Radio-Canada broadcasts Sunday at 8 p.m., in the box of Everybody talks about it.

The fourth season of this simple, but devilishly effective conversation show is off to a great start when the current passes between the two guests seated at the restaurant Le Serpent, in the Cité du multimedia, in Montreal.

Between France Castel and Maripier Morin, it clicks and it flows naturally. Neither of them quibbles about their years of drug and alcohol abuse. They talk about it the way you rarely hear about drug addiction on TV. It’s borderline confronting so their confidences are honest and raw.

Under the influence of cocaine, Maripier Morin felt invincible, smarter, funnier, she found that her repartee increased and that people liked her more.

Same observation for France Castel, 78 years old: cocaine gave her an unusual assurance, a form of ecstasy. “I found myself beautiful, brilliant and capable of living a sexuality to my liking”, reveals France Castel, specifying that at the time, she was often paid in sachets of powder by her producers.

Obviously, the fall was brutal for the two women, who ended up in rehab. In addition to dope, Maripier Morin drank a lot of alcohol. “I consumed excessively and there, I became like a mistletoe, I Frenched anyone,” continues Maripier Morin, whose nickname, during his years as a bartender, was Marie-French.

We never feel that one judges the other, or vice versa. France Castel is particularly touching when Maripier Morin tells her that she has given herself a “sweet spot”. Understand: Maripier, who “still has the taste of doing this job”, lost everything by her own fault, she assumes it.

“You had everything, everything, everything, notes France Castel. You don’t have to punish yourself anymore. You do whatever it takes to come back from this. » The great lady of showbiz Québécois adds: “We forgive less beautiful girls. »

In this one-hour interview, neither France nor Maripier pronounce the name of Safia Nolin, who denounced, in July 2020, the inappropriate behavior of the host and actress towards her.

About the emergence of the #metoo movement, France Castel, who has crossed paths with several uncles in her career, does not consider herself a victim, a firm position that risks offending some feminists.

“I have always refused to put myself in the category of victims. I lived my life according to refusing that, ”insists France Castel.

Maripier Morin plunges for a rare time into the dark aspect of his marriage (highly publicized) with hockey player Brandon Prust: “Neither of us did any good for each other”, testifies Maripier about this relationship which she describes as toxic.

When she met Brandon Prust, Maripier had no self-esteem and was still dragging the label of the bitch ofDouble occupationshe recalls.

Yes, the two women cry during this meal, but their meeting contains several light and funny moments. France Castel recounts in particular her romance with Miles Davis or her beautiful years of sexual revolution where she and her friends lent each other their buddies.

There is no reinstatement manual for canceled patrol boats. showbiz Quebec. Unlike Julien Lacroix, whose return to the stage was bumpy, Maripier Morin took his time.

She moved to Montérégie. She had a little girl. She did not abuse Instagram. She participates in the podcast Seeds of hopewhich is about recovery and addiction.

During the winter, Maripier visited Marie-Claude Barrette’s set at TVA to talk about sobriety. She admitted her wrongs and faced her demons. In short, she took charge and took care of herself.

You cannot excommunicate a person indefinitely or banish him from the airwaves forever. From what I hear, the major networks would be ready to give Maripier Morin a second chance, but they are waiting to see the reaction of the public before brandishing the contracts.

Would they be accused of invalidating the testimony of his victims by offering him work?

The fans have forgiven Maripier Morin. It is the people in the artistic community who still have a grudge against him. As if they had never taken a solid landing.