29 January 2023 , 18:00
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Dancing on Ice star Michelle Heaton has been incredibly honest with fans about her addiction battle after checking into rehab in 2021.
The 43-year-old former Liberty X singer sought help for her addiction to alcohol after facing a number of health issues in lockdown.
At one point in her addiction battle, she had been consuming as much as a bottle bottle of vodka, lines of cocaine and two bottles of wine daily.
Since checking out in May 2021, Michelle has remained candid about the effects alcohol had on her during her addiction battle and has now been sober for nearly two years.
Michelle has continued to bravely discuss her addiction battle, and revealed in a recent podcast her addiction had "stopped be being who I am".
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Michelle has been extremely honest about her journey in the last few years (wonderwomanshel/Instagram)
The singer revealed how drugs and alcohol had wreaked havoc with her hair (wonderwomanshel/Instagram)"I'm a good person, I like to think I'm nice. I am kind and I'm loving and I love to make people feel good about themselves," she explained in an interview on the ReNew podcast. "Addiction stopped all that. It stopped be being who I am. But I couldn't see it."
She has also bravely shared how her addiction to drink and drugs had an impact on her physically, too.
In her first interview with her husband Hugh since leaving rehab, Michelle revealed her skin had changed colour in the height of her battle.
She told OK! magazine her skin turned "translucent" and you could see "all my veins".
Michelle once said her skin had turned "translucent" (@wonderwomanshel/Instagram)
She also experienced problems with her liver (@wonderwomanshel/Instagram)Her three-year alcohol and drug addiction left her constantly vomiting, losing her hair and losing a drastic amount of weight and had problems with her liver.
In the interview, Michelle explained: "I was skinny but I had a very big hard belly and my liver was protruding.
"I also wasn’t washing for days and my hair was falling out and had become very thin because of the alcohol abuse and hormones. I’d gone down to 7st 13lbs.
"My body was shutting down and couldn’t function without the alcohol.
Michelle's body was "shutting down" according to the star (Instagram)
Her husband Hugh revealed that she suffered a fit just days before seeking help (Anthony Harvey/REX/Shutterstock)"I’d be sick with it but I’d be worse without it and shaking. So many times I would wake up in the morning and scream for help, knowing no one was in the house."
Michelle's husband Hugh Hanley also revealed she suffered a fit just four days before her trip to The Priory.
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He recalled: "Four days before going to the Priory she also had a very bad fit in bed at 2am. She wouldn’t stop shaking and her mouth was drooling.
The television star spent time in The Priory to aid her recovery (INSTAGRAM)"That was scary and it really spooked her. Her skin was also changing colour and she hadn’t eaten for days. Things had got so bad there was no way out.
"She was told in September 2020, with her liver the way it was, she was going to die if she did nothing about it."
In June last year, Michelle treated herself to a hair transformation and revealed how her alcoholism had impacted her locks.
As she celebrated 60 days of sobriety, Michelle posted a before and after photo to show the "harsh reality" of the damage to her hair.
Michelle is hoping to win Dancing On Ice (ITV)She wrote: "It’s funny (not really funny) but still funny, how stress … hormones … alcohol … drugs … diet … fitness all effects the hair!"
Writing underneath the series of videos and pictures, she continued: "See my video at the end. This was filmed only this morning, That’s the harsh reality of what my hair became. And so this is me now."
Her battle may have had a huge physical impact on her, but it also affected marriage, too.
Speaking in December 2021, Michelle admitted her marriage was "horrendous" during her addiction woes, but has since improved "massively".
She told OK!: "I suppose, in my mind, having fun was the answer to a marriage and my idea of having fun was not fun in the past few years.
"So Hugh is absolutely buzzing as he gets to go to bed early with me, as now I want to go to bed early! Part of me used to be scared to go to sleep as I was afraid of not waking up, but I’m not any more."