X Factor Kayleigh: I put drugs before my kids
Singer also a convicted thief
X FACTOR hopeful Kayleigh Taylor last night told how she has racked up a €16,500 debt bingeing on cocaine and put drugs before her kids.
The former chip shop worker, a mother of three, hit rock bottom when she was unable to take her child to school after a weekend of overindulging on coke, vodka and wine.
We can also reveal that she has a criminal record after pleading guilty to stealing a phone from a man she met on a dating website.
The revelations come just days after Kayleigh apologised for sending racist messages to a former pal.
Last night she admitted the extent of her drug shame, saying she resorted to payday loans and money from her parents to fund her habit.
She’d lie to her adopted mum and dad about needing money for gas or electricity – instead splurging it on up to €400 worth of cocaine and alcohol every weekend.
LIES
She said: “I used to lie to my parents. People used to tell them I was taking drugs, and because I used to lie to them that much they never believed it.
“It got to the point I would ring them and say I needed gas and electric, but it wasn’t – I needed it for (cocaine).
“Every time I went out I relied on it. I wouldn’t go out without taking some (cocaine) first.
“I owe payday loan companies because I tried to get loans to fund my habit. I’m in £15,000 of debt.”
When an ex-partner left her because of her problem, she went on the weekend binge that rendered her incapable of taking her child to school – and finally signed up for counselling.
She said: “It got to the point where I was choosing alcohol and drugs over my children. I got that off my face my ex packed his stuff and he left me. I was that hung over I never took my child to school. It has affected everyone’s lives.”
A man who met Kayleigh on dating website Plenty of Fish in 2014 revealed how she invited him to her home, then left him there for six hours while she went to pick up drugs – and stole his €300 phone.
He said: “She used my phone to call a local dealer. Then a car pulled up outside and she said she’d go and get the gear.”
The man, who we’re not naming, told how he fell asleep on the couch. He said six hours later, two lads let themselves in and woke him up.
“They just barged in and said, ‘You need to go’,” he recalled.
He said he was “fuming” that she hadn’t returned the phone, so contacted the police.
Kayleigh later pleaded guilty to theft. She was given a community order and told to pay costs of €220. The incident happened around the same time as she failed a lie detector test on the Jeremy Kyle show for stealing her estranged dad’s phone.
Kayleigh, from Liverpool, became an overnight sensation after her X Factor audition. She stunned Simon, Nicole, Sharon and Louis with her Simon Cowell tattoo, admitting she got it while bingeing on vodka in Magaluf.
She said she went on the show to turn her life around, adding: “I’ve not used [drugs] now for around two months.”
With the help of addiction groups and counselling, she says she is sorting herself out. “I’m upset that it wasn’t until I went on X Factor that I realised how many people I’ve hurt,” she said. “Drug addictions ruin lives, I’m not embarrassed any more – I am genuinely sorry.” scoops@sundaymirror.co.uk