More than a year ago, on Thanksgiving night, Hollie Strano’s car stalled on Akron-Peninsula Road sometime after leaving her family gathering, resulting in a highly publicized OVI charge and guilty plea.
Today, Strano said he is driving on a safer road as he continues to not only work on his sobriety, but serve as a voice for those struggling with addiction and mental health.
“I feel like what hurt me changed me in a whole new way,” the former WKYC-TV personality said during an interview this week with the Beacon Journal.
Strano, 55, of Highland Heights, said he continues to work with his therapists, and relies on a small but strong group of family and friends for support.
It was a long and bumpy road to get to this point.
Stress and anxiety, alcoholism started in the teenage years, Hollie Strano says
Hollie Strano pauses to talk about her recovery journey during an interview in her life coach’s office on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Brecksville,
Strano said he has been struggling with anxiety for as long as he can remember. As a teenager, Strano said he first turned to alcohol to help quiet his inner dialogue and insecurities. It started, he said, with a drink or two at a gathering and slowly progressed into relying on alcohol as a crutch to get him through the tough times.
“I used alcohol to win,” he said. “It came out dangerously.”
There were times when she would stop, she said, such as when she was pregnant with her two children, and other times she would stop drinking for short periods, for a week or a month at a time. But he kept going back to the bottle, leaning on it to calm his feelings.
“I was a closeted alcoholic,” he said. “I had bottles of airplane beer hidden in my closet. My family didn’t know how much I was struggling.”
While working as a weather forecaster at WKYC, Strano also created a mental health segment — something he said was encouraged by his peers at the Cleveland television station.
“It’s a miracle I’ve been drinking,” Strano said. He didn’t drink at work, but he often did after work.
Then came Thanksgiving 2023.
Hollie Strano recounts the tragedy of Thanksgiving Day in 2023
Strano said he was with family that day. He said he remembers drinking, but hiding it from his family.
To this day, Strano said he has no recollection of the accident.
At around 7:30 pm, Cuyahoga Falls police received a call about a possible drunk driver on Akron-Peninsula Road. An officer said he started following him when he reached 70 mph in a 35 mph zone toward the Akron border. Strano’s car then crashed in front of the Towpath Tennis Center in Akron, hitting a fire pit.
“I have no recollection of the accident,” Strano said. “I remember waking up in my bed the day before Thanksgiving, with my daughter next to me. She had her hand on me, as if to protect me. I decided right then and there that I had finished drinking.”
Strano later pleaded guilty to one count of operating a vehicle under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor. A Cuyahoga Falls mayor’s court judge ordered him to pay a $375 fine and attend a six-day driver intervention program. His license was also suspended for a year with driving privileges.
In addition, Strano said he has taken it upon himself to do his community service, speaking at several free advocacy groups to support sobriety. He said that he is also working on many social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, where he shared his journey.
“It was really a crossroads for me,” Strano said. “It took the accident to completely change. Before the accident, I was in denial, 100%. I was on the air. I was feeding the beast.”
After the crash: WKYC meteorologist Hollie Strano on a ‘journey’ to recovery after being arrested for OVI
Since that fateful night, Strano said he feels lucky.
“I apologize for what happened,” Strano said. “I didn’t die, I didn’t kill anyone. I thank God that no one was traveling with me in the car. What if I had my child with my partner? I still have times when I feel that hole inside me. Your stomach thinks about that.”
However, he says the accident finally made him realize that he had problems with alcohol, and this was the force that led him down the road to abstinence and better health, something he believes would not have happened otherwise.
WKYC fires Hallie Strano after more than 22 years on the air
Strano, who worked at WKYC for more than 22 years, returned to work at WKYC in February 2024, but was fired in September. Along with working as a weather forecaster, he was a guest on WKYC’s “GO” morning show and a guest on “It’s About You.”
On Monday, Strano filed a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court against WKYC-TV, parent company Tegna and Micki Byrnes, president and general manager of the television station. In the lawsuit, he claims he was suspended in September for sharing his story on social media about his alcoholism treatment and promoting the product on his social media pages. The lawsuit alleges that Strano regularly shared his struggles and emotional issues on his social media platforms, a move the station encouraged.
Hollie Strano debuts new video called ‘Abruptly Authentic’
Hollie Strano talks about her recovery journey and the support she’s received from the public during an interview in her life coach’s office on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Brecksville,
On Thanksgiving this year, Strano said he started his own video series, “Abruptly Authentic.”
“I’m proud of it,” he said. “It’s not just a show about what happened to me, but a show about everything in life.”
The second part was published Dec. 12. Along with YouTube, it can be seen on Facebook and Instagram pages.
Strano did not share details about his plans moving forward and whether that includes returning to television.
For those struggling to overcome their own addictions, Strano had two pieces of advice: Everyone’s journey will be different, and no one should be ashamed of that journey.
“Don’t be ashamed, no matter how good your recovery is,” he said. “We’re always on a journey to be the best of ourselves. It’s the way we do it. There shouldn’t be any rules about how we sober up.”
Her recovery and therapy, Strano said, involved changing her inner self from self-criticism to self-love.
“A lot of selfishness,” he said. “I love me, finally. I feel comfortable in my own skin now.”
The negative comments he would hear or see, including when he was working as a weather forecaster, would drive him to drink to moderate his infidelity.
“Now, there’s no White Claw involved, just reinforcement and love,” Strano said. Even people who are not good, he added, are now the example he does not want to be. “They serve their purpose, too.”
Credit goes to his doctors and his family for his recovery, Strano said. His mother, in particular, was there for him during the darkest moments after the breakup.
One thing he told Strano is that he is looking forward to Christmas, a holiday that has always been dear to his heart.
“I said my favorite color is Christmas lights,” he said. “My name comes from this month.”
Strano said she looks forward to spending time with family, including making Christmas cookies and watching Christmas movies.
“It will be the best Christmas ever,” he said.
Need help? Get information on how to get help with mental health, addiction issues
County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board1867 W. Market, Suite B2 Akron 44313-6914 Phone: 330-762-3500adm@admboard.orgadmboard.org
Portage Path Behavioral Health340 S. BroadwayAkron 44308330-253-3100portagepath.org
Akron Alcoholics Anonymous775 N. Main St., Akron 44310 Phone: 330-253-8181akronaa.org
Asian Services in Action International Community Health Center370 East Market St. Akron 44304330-535-3263asiaohioorg/ichc
Townhall II Integrated Health Network155 N. Water St., Kent 44240330-678-3066townhall2.com
Akron Children’s Hospital Lois and John Orr Family Behavioral Health CenterMultiple locations 330-543-5015akronchildrens.org/departments/Behavioral-Health.html
This article originally appeared on the Akron Beacon Journal: Former WKYC on-air personality Hollie Strano shares her story of recovery.