Objective A developmental model of alexithymia in relation to alcohol‐related risk was examined. Method Validated indices of parental bonding, adult attachment, alexithymia, theory of mind (ToM), alcohol‐related risk, and mood were administered to a nonclinical sample of 286 alcohol‐using men and women. Results Hierarchical regression incorporating demographic and psychosocial variables accounted for 44% of the variance in alexithymia. Modeling indicated a significant path from dysfunctional maternal bonding to insecure adult attachment to alexithymia to risky drinking; a separate path indicated an indirect effect of alexithymia in association between the deficient ToM and risky drinking. Conclusions Findings were consistent with a developmental model where dysfunctional parental bonding in childhood manifests in adulthood as insecure attachment and alexithymia, the latter reflecting the insufficient acquisition of emotion regulation skills; alexithymia, in turn, increases the risk of problematic drinking as an emotion regulation strategy.