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Michelle Heaton Breaks Down Over Addiction Battle That Left Her Feeling She ‘Didn’t Want to Be Here Anymore’.
Michelle Heaton, a former singer of Liberty X, became emotional when she revealed the devastating addiction struggles that almost ended her life.
The 46-year-old, who has been drug and alcohol free since 2021, spoke about how she had a long-standing battle with alcohol and eating disorders after her rise to fame as a member of Liberty X. She confessed that her drinking problems escalated to the point of binge drinking for several years.
Michelle revealed that after having a mastectomy in 2012, she felt like ‘disappearing, ‘ and as a result, turned to using more alcohol and cocaine.
In a chat with Paul C Brunson on his We Need to Talk podcast, Michelle talked about how bad her addictions were before she decided to get sober.
Michelle Heaton Opens Up About Addiction Struggles and Hitting Rock Bottom.
“Whenever I attempted quitting, I just couldn’t. Every attempt resulted in me being ill, ” Michelle Heaton confessed while talking about her drug addiction. “It was so much better when I drank alcohol. I would be physically sick, and only when I drank, I would calm down, and it was as if I was healed.”
Former Liberty X band member got choked up as she revealed the lowest times she had in her fight. “I guess I didn’t want to live so many times. That’s why I was thinking that I really didn’t want to be here anymore, ” she told a reporter, sobbing.
“I didn’t even think there was a solution. I was constantly falling into the spiral of addiction. I was too ashamed to ask for help. I mean, I was aware of the damage I was causing to my own body, so the thought of eventually dying wasn’t that far-fetched.”
Michelle, who is married to Hugh Hanley and together they have two children named Faith and Aaron, opened up about how addiction took over her whole life there.
“Alcohol took me away from all of that, ” she admitted. “It took away my willingness to care.”
Michelle Heaton said addiction, for her, was an absolute priority over everything else.
“At that time, I loved alcohol more [than my family], that’s probably the best way of saying it, ” Michelle Heaton confessed as she talked about the peak of her fight with addiction.
“I fell to my knees, I was praying to God, I was just crying out for help.”
The former Liberty X star said that her husband, Hugh Hanley, who she married in 2010, stood by her even during her worst times, though he saw her health getting worse.
“That must have been really hard for him. He could see that I was slowly destroying myself with alcohol and drugs, ” Michelle remarked.
Furthermore, she shared that, in a way Katie Price inspired her to recover. She explained that the former glamour model’s rehab at the Priory in 2020 was the stimulus for her to get help and sober up.
Michelle Heaton Credits Katie Price With Helping Her Get Sober.
Michelle Heaton has opened up about the fact that it was Katie Price who really started her recovery journey.
“Katie really started the whole chain of events that led to what was going to be my last drink, ” Michelle remembers. “She took my phone from me and then Kate phoned Hugh, and she told him that she was going to get me a rehab appointment.”
Talking about her husband’s reaction, Michelle explained: “On one side, Hugh was like, ‘I’ve been asking her to do that for the past two years, why now? Why Kate?’ The easiest way I can explain it is that Kate had something which I didn’t, and that was sobriety.”
“I wanted to learn the secret of Her alcohol free life. I was really curious about it because she was a heavy drinker like me. So, if she could do it, so could I.”
Michelle last month celebrated her five years of sobriety, a milestone she commemorated with a big celebration.