Michelle Heaton shares candid post after detailing drug and alcohol addiction

Michelle Heaton has said that she is ‘mourning alcohol like a friend’ but a hug from her supportive son AJ has helped her heart ‘fill with love and gratefulness’ again.

At the end of last month, the singer, 41, detailed her rehab stint after a three-year drug and alcohol addiction left her ‘close to death’.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Michelle shared a candid update as she admitted she was ‘feeling low’ and had ‘cried a lot for no particular reason.’

Posting a sweet picture of herself kissing her son, seven, on the head, the singer penned: ‘Today I’ve been low. Cried allot, for no particular reason, heart heavy and sad, like I’m mourning a friend. But the friend wasn’t a friend.. it was alcohol. 

‘Then just now this little man hugged me and told me he was proud of me and “Don’t cry mummy, it’s all gonna be ok” then the mourning stopped. And my heart again filled with love and gratefulness..’

Signing off her post, Michelle added: ‘Admitting powerlessness to our addictions is step 1! The rest I need to accept will come in time. Xx.’

At the end of last month, the star admitted she had been left ‘close to death’ following a three-year binge, and she revealed her husband Hugh Hanley had to raise their children Faith, nine, and AJ, seven, alone.

Michelle has since thanked her followers for their ‘well wishes and support’ in a heartfelt video message and told anyone struggling with addiction that they are ‘not alone’. 

On a stroll with her dog in the countryside, she said: ‘Hey everybody it’s such a beautiful day, everything feels very calm at the moment. 

‘I just wanted to say hi to everybody, it’s been a while, nice to meet you all again. Thank you for all your well wishes and your support.’  

Michelle added: ‘If there’s anybody out there struggling, you’re not alone.’ 

Prior to this, the Liberty X star candidly wrote: ‘6 days ago .. on the steps of the @priorygroup. 

‘Faith & AJ you are my world. I’ve been given a second chance at life and I know I’m lucky to have that.

‘I’m overwhelmed with all the support and messages I’ve received when I was in rehab and since I’ve been out. 

‘Thank you to my family, friends, people I’ve met – and not met. It really does mean a lot. X’

The doting mum beamed as she reunited with her family, holding onto her son while looking at her daughter in the sweet embrace.

Michelle previously revealed she was ‘days from death’ when she entered the rehab facility earlier this year, and was told by a therapist that she ‘might not make it’.

The star has also told how an intervention led by her pal Katie Price resulted in her checking herself into the facility. 

After sharing her update last month, several of Michelle’s friends commented on the post sending their support and congratulating her.

Danielle Lloyd, who has spoken openly about her own problems with alcohol in the past, wrote: ‘So proud of you babe.’

While Kerry Katona called the singer ‘amazing’ and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace commented: ‘We are here for you girl, you’ve got this’.

Michelle had also shared a picture of herself sunbathing in the garden while reading book Understanding The Twelve Steps. 

As she rested with her current read on her legs, Michelle’s husband could be seen playing with their two children and their bikes in the background. 

Michelle has spoken candidly about the effects her alcohol addiction has had on her family, saying it left her husband Hugh to raise their children as a single parent and her feeling like a ‘bad mother’ after not being able to play with Faith and AJ.

She also praised Hugh for standing by her throughout her battle, saying ‘I don’t know how he’s still there’ in a recent interview with The Sun.

Michelle has also reflected on how she ended up in rehab, saying her addiction was like a ‘suicide mission’.

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Speaking to The Sun just 36 hours after leaving rehab, Michelle revealed: ‘What I was doing was a suicide mission. I was crying out for help when I couldn’t actually ask for help. When you’re an addict, it feels like there’s no way out.’

Telling the paper that she had been drinking two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka ‘virtually every day since 2018’, Michelle added: ‘Last September I hit rock bottom with the alcohol and had excruciating pains. My doctor could feel my liver sticking out because I was so thin.’

Michelle also told how she embarked on a ‘three day coke binge’ that saw her consuming a gram of cocaine a night alongside alcohol.

Discussing her friends’ intervention, she said: ‘I was shaking and I was crying. I was intoxicated. Katie Price said, “Right, you’re going to The Priory”.’

Katie has previously been a patient at The Priory as she battled her own demons. 

The doting mother was told by Priory staff that the level of the enzyme GGT – which indicates liver damage – in her blood was 2,5000 compared to a healthy person’s 30.

She also shared that while in The Priory she sent Katie, 43, a text thanking her for saving her life. 

It was confirmed last month that Michelle was receiving treatment in rehab after reportedly turning to alcohol during lockdown.

It was reported that Michelle was struggling with the side effects after undergoing a hysterectomy in 2012 and a double mastectomy in 2015, to reduce her risk of cancer, as well as experiencing an early menopause.

A spokesperson for Michelle confirmed to MailOnline at the time that Michelle was at a rehabilitation facility and has the support of her family and friends.

Michelle’s husband Hugh spoke out in April and praised his wife’s ‘strength’.

Sharing a touching tribute to Michelle on Instagram, Hugh said ‘you are doing your family proud’ and shared a candid black-and-white snap of the former Liberty X singer sitting topless on a beach.

His full message read: ‘No one should ever suffer in silence but it takes real strength to speak up and do something about it … @wonderwomanshel you are doing your family proud.’

A source told The Sun at the time: ‘She realised she needed to get help when she’d increasingly turned to alcohol as a crutch as she couldn’t cope with the effects of her operations.

‘Michelle was left feeling like she had lost so much of what made her a woman and when she went into early menopause that brought with it a whole other collection of problems.

‘She was just about coping when lockdown hit last year, but the effect of being at home and being unable to distract herself, saw her hit rock bottom.’

In 2012 the mother of two discovered she was carrying the BRCA2 gene, which meant that without surgery she had an 80 to 85 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and a 30 to 40 per cent risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Following the surgery she also went through the early menopause aged 35.

She has appeared on television on several occasions to discuss her experience with being diagnosed with the mutated gene.

In 2013 Michelle told how she had to have surgery work out if she needed a pacemaker, after diet pills she was once addicted to left her with a terrifying cardiac condition.

For six years, the singer said she was addicted to slimming pills, popping tablets every day to suppress her appetite and maintain her weight.

She only stopped when the situation got so dire she was forced into hospital after suffering heart problems.

Michelle suffered with the unexplained arrhythmia for seven years, until in 2011 she was told she may suffer from atrial fibrillation.

Michelle married Hugh in the Bahamas in July 2010, who she started dating in 2008, and the couple share two children, Aaron Jay, seven, and Faith, nine.

If you’re having trouble finding the right sort of help, call the Frank drugs helpline on 0300 123 6600. They can talk you through all your options 

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