Fears for BOOZING CHRISTINA

Eyewitnesses say Christina Aguilera could hardly stand up after getting wasted in Lake Como

What a girl wants? On July 17, Christina Aguilera was craving wine — lots of it, it seemed. On a break from the European leg of her worldwide X Tour, the “Genie in a Bottle” singer hit up Lake Como “to take a breather,” as she wrote on her Instagram that day. Around 2 p.m., she and longtime fiancé Matthew Rutler went to the exclusive La Darsena Ristorante, where they enjoyed a leisurely — and boozy — lunch. “She was drinking at the restaurant and then at another bar,” says a witness. At about 8 p.m., they headed back to their boat to whisk them to where they were staying. By then, Christina was in bad shape, eyewitnesses tell In Touch. Two bodyguards needed to help her walk, while Matthew carried her beverage and yet another person toted more bottles of wine. “Everybody seemed embarrassed,” says the witness. “She was wasted.”

Which is why her loved ones are alarmed, sources tell In Touch. Eight years after Christina, 38, was arrested for public intoxication in LA alongside Matthew, who was charged with DUI, she appears to still be drinking like she’s a college girl pledging a sorority. “She’s been boozing for years and doesn’t have a stop button. To make matters worse,

she’s a sloppy drunk and can barely stand when she’s out of it,” says one source.

Insiders say she hits the bottle hard in order to cope with the stress of her touring schedule — she’s on the road and in Las Vegas for her residency through the end of the year — and her lackluster relationship with TV producer and guitarist Matthew, 34, with whom she shares daughter Summer, 4. “It’s not this huge love affair that it once was,” says the source. “She’s going through a lot of emotions.” And it shows. Adds the source, “Friends are urging her to get her act together before her drinking spirals even more out of control.”

IN DENIAL?

Their pleas have fallen on deaf ears for years. Following Christina’s 2011 arrest — “She didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t know her own address,” a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said at the time — “everyone thought she learned her lesson,” says the source. But three days later, Christina (who also has a son, Max, 11, with her ex-husband, Jordan Bratman) was back at Osteria Mozza, the same place she got drunk the night of her arrest, and downed wine

with Matthew. The insider calls the 5-foot-2 singer a lightweight. “I’ve been to a few parties with Christina, at other people’s homes and hers. She loves champagne, vodka — she likes it all. Lake Como isn’t the first time she’s had to be helped walking. I don’t know how Matthew puts up with it.”

It seems the pair just tolerate each other. “She’s called off her wedding multiple times because of various reasons,” says the source. Chief among them: not wanting to “squeeze” into a wedding dress (see below). “Her drinking has definitely affected her weight. She’s the first one to tell you that these so-called ‘skinny-girl drinks’ are a joke.”

But her fluctuating weight is just one of many reasons those close to Christina want her to rein it in. “There’s more to her drinking than anyone really knows,” claims the insider. “Christina isn’t a kid anymore. She may be having fun, but being sloppy in public is not a good look.” ◼