Bandmates spotted Girls Aloud star’s booze blues
Speaking for the first time about her stint in a US clinic, Harding said her drinking went out of control as her relationship with ex-fiancé Tom Crane disintegrated and she tried to “numb” the pain.
She told Hello! magazine: “The day I left for rehab, I was in such a mess. I’ve been told by those close to me that was when I hit my worst. I was crying hysterically. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, terrified – my emotions were all over the place.”
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Hide AdHarding said she was ricocheting between emotional extremes as her wild living spiralled as a way to cope with being down.
The chart star – who scored hits such as Love Machine and Biology with the girl group – sought help for depression and alcohol abuse in October when her relationship with DJ Crane fell apart.
She said: “I was so down but I just tried to keep busy and, to numb myself, I was drinking more. It was my way of escaping.”
It was a dinner with bandmates Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts that made her realise she had a problem. A night earlier she had appeared on the catwalk at a fashion show, then went out to celebrate. “I went too far, drank way too much,” she said.
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Hide AdBut rather than toning it down the next day, her friends were shocked to see she merely picked up and carried on.
Harding said: “The following night, I saw Nicola and Kimberley for dinner. I wasn’t in a good state at all – I was very hungover. But the first thing I wanted to do was open a bottle of wine. I know they were really worried about me.”
The singer – who checked out of the clinic last month – feels she has now turned it around.
“I’ve turned 30 now and, although there will always be a bit of the rock chick in me, I’m trying to embrace my softer and more feminine side.
“And I am trying really hard to be healthy. I’ve realised I can socialise without booze.”