Michelle Heaton has revealed that a night out with Katie Price made her realise it was time to embrace sobriety.
The Liberty X star, 45, is now four years sober after she nearly died and was hospitalised in 2021 during her battle with drink.
At the height of her addiction, the singer drank two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka nearly every day, but it wasn’t until an outing with her glamour model friend, 47, that she realised it was time to tackle her problem.
During a chat with Daily Mail, Michelle explained that she had already acknowledged that she had a problem but didn’t feel able to confide in anyone.
She explained: ‘There were many times when I wanted to stop drinking but I couldn’t and then I didn’t want to tell anybody I couldn’t because I’d already told them I was stopping.
‘It was frustrating thinking, “why can’t I stop, I can’t tell anybody because no one’s going to have the same problem.” So I was out with a few friends and one was Katie and they weren’t drinking.’
Michelle Heaton has revealed that a night out with Katie Price made her realise it was time to embrace sobriety during her alcoholism battle (pictured in February)
The Liberty X star, 45, is now four years sober after she nearly died and was hospitalised in 2021 during her battle with drink and spoke to Daily Mail about her experience
Michelle continued: ‘It made me think “what the f**k? I’ve come here to have a good time.” But I wasn’t having a good time, that’s the point, the drink was not giving me any joy.
‘And then I just thought, “God, if they can do it, if she can do it, if they could be sober, what did they do?”
‘And then as soon as I accepted I needed help, help was always there.’
Katie went sober for a year after a stint at The Priory rehab centre where she was seeking treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Michelle’s struggles with alcoholism began during her time in Liberty X, where she revealed there were times the band would be in the bar drinking in the mornings ahead of appearing on TV shows.
She added: ‘I never thought I could perform without having a drink because I suffer from impostor syndrome. I thought I needed a drink to squash the nerves.
‘So the first few gigs I did after coming out of rehab were so different. I felt this high afterwards I’d never felt before because I’d always squashed it with alcohol.’
Michelle added that rehab not only helped her with her alcoholism but with dealing with how reactive she used to be as well as teaching her to establish boundaries.
‘I’ve allowed myself to be in situations I should never have been in,’ she explained.
Michelle added that rehab not only helped her with her alcoholism but with dealing with how reactive she used to be as well as teaching her to establish boundaries
While Michelle admits she has an addictive personality and always had a complicated relationship with alcohol, her drinking spiralled after she had a hysterectomy at the age of 35
‘I said yes to anything, to staying out all night, to like partying with people I’d just met. I had absolutely zero boundaries.
‘That’s not healthy, not just on an alcohol side, but with my pride, my self-esteem and my self-worth.
‘So through treatment and realising like what kind of areas I had let slide, the narrative that’s changed going forward is huge.
‘I don’t get it perfect. I kick off sometimes. You know, life can get messy and I lose my temper and shout, absolutely.
‘But before my reaction to the small things would be catastrophic. And now I’ve also learnt how to say no.’
While Michelle admits she has an addictive personality and always had a complicated relationship with alcohol, her drinking spiralled after she had a full hysterectomy at the age of 35.
She discovered she had the BRCA2 mutation gene, giving her an increased risk of getting cancer.
Michelle decided to have a preventative double mastectomy, before then also undergoing a hysterectomy – a surgical procedure to remove the womb – to reduce her risk of ovarian cancer.
Michelle has daughter Faith, 13, and son AJ, 10, with husband Hugh Hanley and revealed she has had conversations with Faith about the BRCA2 gene, because she is at risk of having it (pictured last month)
She explained: ‘I had an 85 percent risk so it was an easy decision. I didn’t think about the consequences, or what that might look like and the way I coped with that wasn’t right.
‘Not that I would have changed it, you know, we had already been blessed with two healthy kids, but it changed my life, going through the menopause so early.
‘I don’t blame that for being an alcoholic but it was definitely a catalyst to how quickly it happened after that.
‘Nobody can see your hormones or understand what you’re going through and at that age with my peers, nobody really wants to talk about it. I found myself not fitting in.
‘I didn’t want to go out, I felt s**t about myself, I didn’t want to have sex, I didn’t want to look at anybody and alcohol was my way out.’
Michelle has daughter Faith, 13, and son AJ, 10, with husband Hugh Hanley and revealed she has had conversations with Faith about the BRCA2 gene, because she is at risk of having it.
‘She’s aware that at some point she might want to get tested, so it’s never going to be a shock,’ Michelle explained.
‘We don’t bring it up often, but if it’s come up in conversation, I tell her you might want to get tested, but science and medicine have changed so much you might not need to do anything.
‘I’ve told her even if you did have it you might never need to have a hysterectomy and or a double mastectomy.
‘But if I was talking about that 10 years ago, I would have burst out in tears. It’s heartbreaking. You feel guilty. My dad even feels guilty even though you know it was his mum who had the gene.’
Currently, Michelle is training for her upcoming production, Ultimate Girl Band Show, which kicks off in January in Hornchurch and concludes in October in Chatham
Currently, Michelle is training for her upcoming production, Ultimate Girl Band Show, which kicks off in January in Hornchurch and concludes in October in Chatham.
The Liberty X star is touring the UK with West End singers for a show that celebrates the biggest anthems from the world’s most iconic girl bands, including Spice Girls, TLC and Pussycat Dolls.
Discussing the show, Michelle shared: ‘I’ve been waiting for almost 14 years to do a tour. It was never the right time because of the kids.
‘I still gig with Liberty X but to go out on tour and commit to a long time I had to wait until the kids were at high school because my husband works full-time.
‘I just want to have fun on stage and sing songs that empower women. It’s a good one for me and I just feel really privileged that I get to go out and do what I love.’
Tickets for the Ultimate Girl Band Show are available at www.sweeneyentertainments.co.uk
For help with alcohol addiction, contact Alcoholics Anonymous for free on 0800 917 7650 or email help@aamail.org
