# Red Hot Chili Peppers front man's girlfriend of the '90s was 'rattled for years' by his heroin addiction

**By Stephanie Nolasco**  
**Published March 8, 2025 9:00am EST**

At age 16, Ione Skye began dating Red Hot Chili Peppers front man Anthony Kiedis, who was 24 and fresh out of rehab.

The chemistry was immediate, as they were "instantly full-blown, instantly enmeshed." But it just as quickly turned toxic as the rocker continued to battle an addiction to heroin. The relationship started right when Skye landed her breakout role in the Cameron Crowe film "Say Anything."

The actress, now 54, has written a memoir,  in which she opens up about her love life and rise to stardom in Hollywood.





Ione Skye was 16 and turning 17 when she began dating Anthony Kiedis, who was 24.





"It’s funny. You end up kind of hiding," she reflected on being a teen, who found herself looking after an adult struggling.

"... I felt embarrassed that I was in this situation. I felt this instinct to not let people know how bad it was. . . . I was just a wreck at the time. I was so scared."

 Skye recalls how her "falling for Anthony phase" was quickly replaced by her "saving for Anthony phase."



"Finally, I realized, ‘I don’t need to take care of him, it’s not my job. I’m not a nurse,’" Skye told Fox News Digital. "I really had that moment where I  I’m not a nurse. That was the thought that came to mind: This isn’t my job."

Writing was another step of seeing the story from the outside, and it helped, she said. "I loved being married," she said. "I didn’t like them saying, ‘How could she?’ because she tried to talk to me, but there wasn’t much she could have done to stop me. But she tried having conversations with me. I was defiant. I wasn’t mean to my mom. I wasn’t like, ‘Screw you,’ or anything. I spoke to her nicely, but I was very determined, for some strange reason."





"Be less – as most people would say – hard on yourself," she said. "I thought you have to know everything right away. . . . That was a lesson I had to learn. Don’t put so much pressure to know everything and do everything perfectly."

Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.
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