Michelle Heaton has bravely opened up about her alcohol and drug addiction.
The 41-year-old singer, who shares two children with her husband Hugh Hanley, has admitted that her other half was like a ‘single parent’ amid her three-year battle.
The former Liberty X star, who shares a daughter, nine, and son, seven, with Hugh, admitted that she felt like a ‘bad mother’ during the incredibly tough time.
Opening up about how her addiction affected her family, Michelle told The Sun: “I felt like a bad mother — the worst. I’m so lucky I’ve got two beautiful children.
"They just want to see mummy well and they want to have fun mummy. They want me to play football with them, they want me to do their hair.
"It was those simple things that I wasn’t able to give them."
The singer went on to admit that her addiction battle greatly affected her marriage with Hugh, and her secrecy in terms of trying to hide her symptoms led him to believe that she was being unfaithful.
She said: “My husband wondered if I’d be alive when he woke up. I wasn’t having an affair, but I was in love with alcohol. Yet he stood by me the whole time. I wouldn’t have stayed with me, I don’t know how he’s still there. If he had left it would have been the tipping point for me.”
Michelle went on to admit that it was her friend Katie Price who helped her turn her life around when her addiction hit rock bottom.
Katie, along with some of Michelle’s family and closest friends, booked her into The Priory, and paid for her four-week stay to beat her drug and alcohol addiction.
Michelle admitted that while she was in the rehabilitation centre, she sent Katie a message saying ‘You saved my life’.
• Frank offers confidential advice about drugs and addiction (email frank@talktofrank.com , message 82111 or call 0300 123 6600) or the NHS has information about getting help.
