Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ANT: MY FIGHT TO SAVE MARRIAGE
Star’s vow as he leaves rehab after beating drugs hell
ANT Mcpartlin is winning his fight against drug addiction and has now vowed to save his marriage.
The TV star admitted he put his wife Lisa “through hell” while hooked on a cocktail of painkillers to combat the effects of botched knee surgery.
After leaving rehab, Ant, 41, said: “This kind of stuff puts strains on any marriage. She’s been very supportive.”
ANT Mcpartlin has praised devoted wife Lisa for the support she has shown him during his two-year battle with drug addiction.
And the TV star vowed to fight to save their 11-year marriage after admitting being hooked on painkillers put a hefty strain on their relationship.
Asked if it could be rescued, Ant, who left rehab after nearly two months last week, said: “Time will tell.
“I’ve put Lisa through hell with mood swings and depression and how it affects you. This kind of stuff puts strains on any marriage.
“All I can say at the moment is that she’s been amazing, fantastic throughout. She’s been very supportive. As has Dec. This is something that I’ve gone through,
I’ve done it.
“I’ve stuck to it. I’m proud of doing it. There’s a very positive outcome which is great.” Ant, who hosts I’m a Celebrity with Declan Donnelly, was addicted to eight different drugs as he struggled with pain from botched knee surgery.
But he is now clean, apart from paracetamol. The showbiz veteran also lost a stone during his recovery. Ant yesterday revealed the depth of his problems including depression, alcohol and substance abuse since the 2015 operation. He told how he had been hiding pills to avoid his addiction being detected before a conversation with Lisa and Dec got him on the road to recovery.
The Geordie said in his first interview since leaving rehab: “I was at the point where anything… prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs… I would take.
“And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, ‘You could have killed yourself.’” The final straw came when he pleaded with Lisa to call 999 after bingeing on tramadol, morphine and booze while recovering from a second knee operation in June.
He said: “It was five in the morning and I was screaming in pain so I rang Lisa. She was upstairs as I was in the living room because I couldn’t get around.
“I said, ‘You’re going to have to call me an ambulance. I’m in a bad way.’”
A source close to 41-year-old Ant said: “Lisa has been a rock for Ant through this ordeal but there are lots of things they need to talk about and work through in the coming weeks.
“Drug addiction would put a strain on any marriage. He was living a nightmare and has been suffering in silence for a long time and kept things from the people he loves, in particular Lisa and his best friend Dec.
“Ant couldn’t be more grateful to the people around him and is doing everything he can to make up for the way
I took the drugs with alcohol. The doctors told me, ‘You could have killed yourself’ ON HOW HIS DRUG ADDICTION HAD GOT OUT OF CONTROL
he has treated Lisa. They are together now with his family and he is getting the support he needs. Ant just wants to get things back to how they used to be with Lisa before he got hooked on these drugs.
“They have such a strong bond Ant would never want to lose Lisa. Now he wants to get back to a normal life.”
A source close to Ant said he and Strictly make-up artist Lisa were now enjoying quality time together away from the spotlight, adding: “He has left rehab but he is still receiving treatment.
“He is an addict so he will never be completely in the clear and there is some way to go, but his friends and family are really happy with his recovery so far.
“He looks a changed man and has lost weight and the bags under his eyes are gone because he is sleeping again.
“No one is rushing him back, but it seems likely now that he will be able to get back to work in the next couple of months which means he will be back for I’m A Celebrity. There is no screen work booked in before that, so he has a few more months to recover and spend time with Lisa and Dec before he even needs to think about returning to TV.”
Ant has also been spending time with mum Christine, who has been staying with him as he gets back to normal life.
She brought up him and younger sister Sarah on a council estate in Newcastle after their dad walked out when he was 10. Christine admitted she knew there was something not right with him but is now “happy to have her old son back”.
Dec’s mum Annie also praised Ant. She said: “He is lovely, he’s like a son to me. He has done so well, and we are all proud of him. We are so happy with the news.”
In rehab Ant took up yoga and now goes to the gym. He hasn’t drunk for two months and will stay teetotal for a while. But after learning he was not addicted to booze he revealed he will continue to enjoy a beer with pal Dec.
Ant also admitted he should have acted earlier to begin his fightback against addiction but confessed he was “embarrassed about it”. He told the Sun On Sunday: “Men especially are embarrassed to say they’re depressed or going through depression.
“I have obviously now spoken to a doctor who has told me I was clinically depressed for a year. I’m a bloke from Newcastle so it’s going to be hard to speak out and ask for help.
“We do go through troubles and suffer in silence. Depression is more common than you think.”
Ant revealed he is to have another knee operation in the next few months, which he hopes will finally leave him pain-free.
He met Lisa when on the Smash Hits tour in 1994. At the time Ant and Dec were performing as PJ & Duncan, and Lisa, who is working on the latest Strictly, was in pop band Deuce.
He proposed while on holiday in Dubai in 2005 and the pair tied the knot in 2006.
I’ve put Lisa through hell with mood swings. She’s been supportive ANT TALKING ABOUT STRAIN ON MARRIAGE