The retired Liberty X star revealed that during her battle with alcoholism, she would wake up in the mornings and head straight to the local off-license supermarket to buy vodka instead of taking her kids to school.
The 42-year-old, who shares children Faith, 9, and Aaron, 7, with hubby Hugh Hanley, had only one thing on her brain when she awoke from her slumber every morning – and that was downing as much booze as she could.
It got to the scene where Michelle’s helpless husband feared she would end up dead if he didn’t stand by her as she battled her crippling alcohol addiction.
Hugh learned that if he made the gut-wrenching decision to leave Michelle after 11 years of marriage, their kids would suffer severe consequences as they risked losing their mother for good.
Although Michelle had been drinking heavily for several years, the star hit rock bottom amid her battle at the end of 2019 and throughout 2020.
During that time, the singer would regularly go down two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka in less than 24 hours.
Michelle opened up about the dark time in her life: “I would always promise myself this was the last time I would drink or use cocaine. But I’d wake up fearing it not being there and have to buy more vodka.
“I’d manipulate friends into picking up the kids from school. I was selfish, and I was exhausted.
Michelle Heaton’s beloved husband, Hugh Hanley, has revealed why he didn’t give up on her throughout her crippling battle with drugs and booze.
The former Liberty X singer, 42, struggled amid her severe addiction at the beginning of last year, and Hugh feared she wouldn’t push it through.
Hugh thought if he left his wife of 11 years, she is not here today.
In a joint discussion for The Sun, Hugh revealed: “There was a desire to ensure the kids didn’t rise without a mom.
“I learned if I left, Michelle wouldn’t have created it much longer. I knew I was there to help keep her alive.”
Michelle had been consuming excessively for three years, but things spiraled out of control in 2019 and 2020.
During her worst moment, Michelle consumes two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka daily.
She also down vodka soon after waking up instead of taking her kids to school.
As things worsened, Michelle checked into rehab in April 2021, seeing out her liver was on the verge of cirrhosis and was days away from death.
Their strong marriage began to crumble, but although Hugh effectively rejected as a single parent to their children Faith and AJ, he didn’t give up on his wife.
Following a carouse in December 2020, Michelle was hurried to the hospital and put on a drip.
The star became almost unrecognizable to her family, and they grew increasingly worried for her welfare, not understanding if she would survive.
She said: “I didn’t understand why I couldn’t quit drinking. It didn’t count how ill I got; I still ‘awarded’ myself with the drink.”
Michelle added that she “looked sick” and “knew my liver was filling in, but my addictions were getting worse.”
The songstress counted she did not see a way out as she entered the New Year in 2021.
However, things started to change when she checked into The Priory for a month and started to turn her life around.
Knowing it was her last chance, she did everything she could and says the family is still paying the money back today as it was “costly,” and they had to borrow it.
