‘I just didn’t know how to stop’: Michelle Heaton breaks down in tears as she apologises to Lorraine for drinking backstage during addiction struggles
- The singer, 42, tearfully confessed she used to drink backstage before appearing on Lorraine
- Michelle entered this year for addiction after five years of struggling with alcohol abuse
- The Liberty X star said she was worried the impact drinking will have on her body and also her family
- The singer told how an intervention by Katie Price resulted in her checking in at The Priory
- Michelle revealed she had been drinking two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka ‘virtually every day since 2018’ and also took cocaine
- For help and advice on addiction, visit www.beatingaddictions.co.uk or www.drugwise.org.uk
Michelle Heaton broke down in tears as she appeared on Lorraine on Wednesday after apologising to the host for drinking backstage during her battle with addiction.
The now sober Liberty X singer, 42, entered rehab earlier this year after five years of alcohol abuse which was exasperated following a hysterectomy and mastectomy.
And speaking to Lorraine Kelly, 61, an emotional Michelle apologised before the interview began for past appearances where she appeared on the show after drinking in her dressing room.
Upset: Michelle Heaton broke down in tears as she appeared on Lorraine on Wednesday after apologising to the host for drinking backstage during her battle with addiction
‘I am great now, I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. I love my husband so much,’ she said.
‘Just off the back of that, I wanted to apologise to you before we begin because there were times where I drank before I sat on this sofa and you trusted me and I did campaigns for you.
‘I love you so much because you’ve always been there to support me and I just wanted to say sorry.’
Kind: Lorraine reassured Michelle by saying she didn’t need to apologise, while acknowledging how brave the star is to speak about her addiction battle
Tough: The now sober Liberty X singer, 42, entered rehab earlier this year after five years of alcohol abuse which was exasperated following a hysterectomy and mastectomy
Lorraine reassured Michelle by saying she didn’t need to apologise, while acknowledging how brave the star is to come out the other side and speak about her alcohol abuse.
Elsewhere in the interview, the singer admitted she’s concerned about both the long-time health implications of her alcohol abuse and the affect her actions had on husband Hugh Hanley and their children, Faith, nine, and AJ, seven.
‘It was five years really the trauma of all my health issues, it blew up. I just didn’t know how to stop drinking,’ Michelle said.
Intervention: Michelle had been drinking two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka ‘every day’ It was an intervention by Katie Price which led to her checking into The Priory. (pictured in 2010)
‘Now I worry, I worry about what my addictions had on me physically and also on my family. I had [Hugh] by my side but I pushed him away.’
Michelle was struggling with the side effects after undergoing a hysterectomy in 2012 and a double mastectomy in 2015, to reduce her risk of cancer, as well as experiencing an early menopause.
She had been drinking two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka ‘virtually every day since 2018’ and also took cocaine.
It was an intervention by Katie Price which led to her checking into The Priory.
The doting mother was told by Priory staff that the level of the enzyme GGT – which indicates liver damage – in her blood was 2,5000 compared to a healthy person’s 30.
Michelle credited her husband for helping her overcome her issues.
Confession: ‘I wanted to apologise to you before we begin because there were times where I drank before I sat on this sofa and you trusted me and I did campaigns for you,’ Michelle said
Fearful: Elsewhere in the interview, the singer admitted she’s concerned about both the long-time health implications of her alcohol abuse
Speaking in the joint interview, she said: ‘With his strength, he’s helped me get through it to where I am now, not a lot of people are that lucky.’
Hugh added: ‘I was good mentally and physically and I knew I could deal with Michelle and me and I could protect the kids and we could deal with it, but there were days when I questioned my sanity, there were days where I would break down it was just too much to take, was she drinking was she not drinking. ‘
The businessman admitted it has been an ‘extremely tough’ few years for the family.
Honest: ‘It was five years really the trauma of all my health issues, it blew up. I just didn’t know how to stop drinking,’ Michelle said
He said: ‘The last three or four years have been extremely tough knowing that Michelle was in there but the addictions were ripping her apart.
‘Sometimes the way she would be towards me and the kids wasn’t nice but I knew that wasn’t Michelle and it wasn’t who she really is and I kind of held on to that.
‘Whenever I brought it up and addressed it, it was just an argument or, ‘you don’t understand I’m not an alcoholic’.
Family: Michelle also shared her worries on the affect her actions had on husband Hugh Hanley and their children, Faith, nine, and AJ, seven
But Hugh knew he couldn’t force Michelle to seek help until she was ‘ready’ and he’s delighted she took the necessary steps because it’s given them a ‘second chance’.
He said: ‘We tried getting Michelle into rehab at the end of 2019 and she wouldn’t go because she wasn’t ready. So I think all you can do as a loved one is support from a distance but they have to go on the journey themselves.
‘There were many times where I could have walked away, it would have been easier. There’s no getting away from it, life with an addict is extraordinarily hard.
‘We’ve got a second chance.
‘If I go back six months, probably I didn’t think we would have got that chance because she was so bad and her health was so worrying to see on a daily basis.
‘It’s a great outcome for us because it could have really gone the other way. I hoped I’d get my wife back to some degree but really in my heart of hearts I never thought I’d get her back to the person she is.’
Michelle apologised to her husband. She said: ‘I want to say sorry. Thank you.’
Speaking to The Sun previously just 36 hours after leaving rehab, Michelle revealed: ‘What I was doing was a suicide mission. I was crying out for help when I couldn’t actually ask for help. When you’re an addict, it feels like there’s no way out.’
Telling the paper that she had been drinking two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka ‘virtually every day since 2018’, Michelle added: ‘Last September I hit rock bottom with the alcohol and had excruciating pains. My doctor could feel my liver sticking out because I was so thin.’
Loving family: Michelle’s husband Hugh praised his wife’s ‘strength’ as he broke his silence after it was revealed she is receiving treatment in rehab in April
Supportive: Sharing a touching tribute to Michelle on Instagram, Hugh said ‘you are doing your family proud’ and shared a candid black-and-white snap of her
Michelle also told how she embarked on a ‘three day coke binge’ that saw her consuming a gram of cocaine a night alongside alcohol.
Discussing her friends’ intervention, she said: ‘I was shaking and I was crying. I was intoxicated. Katie Price said, “Right, you’re going to The Priory”.’
In 2012 the mother of two discovered she was carrying the BRCA2 gene, which meant that without surgery she had an 80 to 85 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and a 30 to 40 per cent risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Following the surgery she also went through the early menopause aged 35.
She has appeared on television on several occasions to discuss her experience with being diagnosed with the mutated gene.
In 2013 Michelle told how she had to have surgery work out if she needed a pacemaker, after diet pills she was once addicted to left her with a terrifying cardiac condition.
For six years, the singer said she was addicted to slimming pills, popping tablets every day to suppress her appetite and maintain her weight.
She only stopped when the situation got so dire she was forced into hospital after suffering heart problems.
Michelle suffered with the unexplained arrhythmia for seven years, until in 2011 she was told she may suffer from atrial fibrillation.
Lorraine airs on weekdays at 9am on ITV and ITV Player.
Summery: Michelle looked lovely in a white polo neck and a blue patterned miniskirt for her TV appearance
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