The birth of her second child brought more stress. Her first child, Alexander Bauer, was four years old when his baby sister was born, and mainstream success was taking its toll. Her substance abuse issues, increasingly hitting the spotlight, had become so problematic that studios stopped offering her work.
After Mike Nichols pushed her into rehab, her efforts for getting cleaned paid off, and she began focusing on her film career. She first took a role in ‘Pacific Heights’, which saw moderate success. However, most of the films she chose during this period were destined to flop.
Trouble in Paradise
Steven Bauer and Melanie hitched up in the early 1980s. When little Alexander was born in 1985, she was already struggling with substance abuse, and the marriage wasn’t going very well either. The couple tried to stay together for their child, but it wasn’t that simple. By the time 'Working Girl' came out, the two had called it quits. Melanie was not happy.
She later admitted feeling depressed and lonely. In an interview, she said, “What I did was drink myself to sleep at night. If I wasn’t with someone, I was an unhappy girl.” The split made it worse. Once she was alone, she revealed that she began having problems with more serious substances. She wouldn’t let this secret out until another rehab term in 1988.
Rekindling the Flame With Don Johnson
After rehab, a program that Mike Nichols directed her to, Melanie tumbled back into the arms of her first love. Sober for the first time, she felt safe and secure with Johnson, the man she loved as a teenager.
At that point, both had gone through rehabilitation, and with sobriety, and at the height of their careers, the couple tied the knot again. They remarried in June of 1989. On October 4, 1989, they welcomed Dakota Johnson to the world.
Melanie and Don’s Marriage Flops (again)
The Hazelden Treatment Center in Minnesota did Mel a lot of good. She contacted Don Johnson before entering the facility, and he waited for her until she was released. Their love was deep and profound, but they probably have too much in common. “You have to understand that we have a tie, and I love him,” she said. “But just because you love someone doesn’t necessarily mean that you can live with them.”
The couple stayed married until 1996, over six years instead of six months. Apparently, however, Melanie stopped tolerating rumors of his and his substance abuse problems also became untenable. But then she took him back, again, after he sobered up. It didn’t last long.
A Winning Role
During the late 1990s, Melanie was handed a part that she shined in. In 'Another Day in Paradise', she played an addict who with another junkie spirals into a life of crime. Her work in the independent film brought strong reviews, some critics raved it was the best performance of her career.
It also brought another role, 'RKO 281' (1999), which earned her a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress. While her career was on a comeback track, behind the scenes she was developing a dependency on painkillers.