The Loose Women panelist said she “misses absolutely nothing” about it
The Loose Women panelist said she “misses absolutely nothing” about it
Denise Welch has reflected on her 14 years of sobriety from alcohol, sharing a statement with her thousands of followers. The ITV panelist and daytime personality took to Instagram to mark the milestone since she walked away from alcohol. In the post, she shared the difference the decision has made on her life as a whole – adding that she misses “absolutely nothing” about her “drinking days”.
The actresses has previously credited her sobriety with saving her life and marriage, describing it as her proudest achievement, which she undertook alongside her husband, Lincoln Townley, to end a cycle of “shameful” bingeing.
The Waterloo Road star decided to get sober after waking up with no memory of the night before, following a “shameful”, publicised drinking incident in 2012.
Posting to Instagram today, Saturday, April 18, the 67-year-old mum said: “Today I celebrate 14 yrs since I had my last alcoholic drink. Not even a sherry trifle…..although I did have a rum and raisin ice cream in Italy last year but luckily remained sober!!!
“I cannot imagine what my life would be like had I not met @lincolntownley who was 14 yrs sober in February. The only thing that we can ever thank alcohol for is that we wouldn’t have met in a nightclub at 6am had we not been drinkers.
“We knew that we potentially had a great relationship but the problems, the blackouts, the terrible decisions, the arguments and fights only happened when drink and drugs were involved.
“I was desperately, pathetically trying to medicate a severe mental illness to no avail and Lincoln was running a nightclub that required him to work into the early hours.
“Although we didn’t attend AA, (I don’t believe a higher power got me sober, it was will power got me sober) I remember talking to someone who told me that at their meeting they heard that you have a problem with alcohol when your drinking is making you and the people who love you desperately unhappy. That was absolutely true for both of us.
“We were lucky that we could be each other’s anchor and go on this difficult journey together. AA is a wonderful organisation and a lifeline for millions; it just wasn’t for us.
“We have a wonderful marriage and because of that our children can live their lives free of the worry and embarrassment that our continued lifestyle would have brought.
“We miss absolutely nothing about our old drinking days but we are now at a place where we can reminisce and find humour in some of our stories rather than just shame.
“Believe me, guilt is something we all live with, shame is something else and takes a lot of work and family support and forgiveness to come to terms with.
“At nearly 68, I’m having somewhat of a renaissance and loving every minute. I have several acting projects coming out this year which I’m very proud of. Lincoln’s art is showing at the Venice Biennale @labiennale at the Palazzo Bembo.
“Our kids are flying in their careers, have gorgeous partners who we love and we are obsessed with our grandson and another arriving in June.”
She finished the post with: “Life is good.”
