Dina Lohan admits Lindsay is an addict

Unlike previous interviews on TODAY, where Dina Lohan has been unwilling to admit that her daughter Lindsay is an addict, Dina, in an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer on Monday, said that she understands what Judge Elden Fox made clear last October when he sentenced Lindsay to rehab until Jan. 3. "Yes," she is comfortable admitting Lindsay is an addict, Dina told Lauer. And the reason she’d been unwilling to admit as much before was because Lindsay had to admit it first. “As a mother it wasn’t for me to come and tell the world about her problem ... I wasn’t in denial. It was for her to come to her evolution. As a mother we protect. Now I’m happy and relieved myself.” (Lindsay on Sept. 18 tweeted that she had an addiction problem, after failing a court-ordered drug test.) Dina said that Lindsay, who is being treated at California's Betty Ford rehab facility, is "happy, relaxed." "She’s just a different person. She’s been in a couple facilities, but this one to me has really changed her." Dina also said that Lindsay, too, has a greater understanding of her addiction issues. "Yes. This teaches you that you are (an addict). Being so young, the admitting of that, can only help her sobriety in the future." And as for that future, what will it hold? Dina said that Lindsay wants to get back into film, but things will be taken "one day at a time. "I don’t have a crystal ball,” Dina said. “I pray hard. She wants to start her own (rehab) facilities, help other children. She’s so public that I think we can only be positive and look to the future to help other families."