Michelle Heaton’s husband Hugh Hanley has admitted he feared she would die during her battle with addiction.
The Liberty X star and the Irish businessman, who have been married since 2010, sat down for their first joint interview since Michelle checked out of rehab for alcohol and drug abuse.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, Hugh recalled: “Four days before going to the Priory she had a very bad fit in bed at 2am. She wouldn’t stop shaking and her mouth was drooling. That was scary and it really spooked her.”
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“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.”
“Fast-forward to April and Michelle was vomiting constantly and on the toilet constantly. It was heartbreaking to see. Nothing would get through to her.”
“It would have been easier to walk away,” he admitted,” but I knew Michelle was in there and I didn’t want to give up on her. And I knew if I walked away she wouldn’t have made it.”
“I didn’t want the kids to grow up without their mother but it was definitely sometimes hard to stay. It’s relentless living with an alcoholic. You question your sanity.”
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“The easiest way to describe it is like having mental boxing matches with someone. She was snappy, aggressive and had become sloppy with everything. She wasn’t the Michelle I married.”
“But the best outcome is where we are now. The kids have a far better mum and she’s back to being the person I married,” Hugh added. “It’s like we’ve had a second chance to fall in love again. I think we’re getting on better than ever.”
Michelle, who was 90 days sober at the time of the interview, said: “I have to take it day by day. I have the tools I learnt on the programme in the Priory and my AA meetings, therapy sessions and an amazing sponsor.”
“The four weeks in the Priory saved my life. After leaving I was struggling with the concept of never being able to have a drink again. I’m still struggling with that anxiety.”
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Revealing the lasting effects of her addiction, Michelle said: “My liver recovered and my liver function is now normal, but it doesn’t forget, so if I have even one drink it will go again really quickly.”
“My pancreas on the other hand doesn’t function so I’ll be on tablets for the rest of my life because I can’t digest my food and that’s left me with very bad bowel issues.”
Michelle and Hugh share two children – Faith, 9, and AJ, 7.