Florence Welch was a 'chaotic mess' before getting sober
Florence Welch was a "chaotic mess" before getting sober.
The Florence and the Machine singer admitted that her boozing had gotten out of control before she finally decided to quit eight years ago.
Speaking on Munroe Bergdorf's Spotify podcast 'The Way We Are', she said: "It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I had a problem with drinking. I was one of those drinkers where it was all or nothing.
"If I enjoy my drinking, I can’t control it and if I control my drinking, I don’t enjoy it. So that was a real wake-up call for me.
"It was at first during the (debut album) 'Lungs' era as it was fine to just be like a chaotic mess because that’s what that was. But then I started to get bigger with (second album) 'Ceremonials'. I thought, ‘Ooh this has to be contained’."
But, Florence admitted getting sober wasn't easy and she found it extremely "lonely".
She said: "Sobriety was really lonely, I had got into music to drink. These two things that I loved the most. Singing, partying and alcohol are the things I was good at. The first two years was a really hard slog, but if anyone is out there and struggling, it does get easier."
Meanwhile, Florence, 35, recently admitted it is “a miracle” she didn’t have an eating disorder relapse during lockdown.
The singer – who has battled anorexia in the past – admitted her sobriety meant she didn’t get a “brain break” during the long periods of having to stay at home and isolate from others and came the “closest” she ever has to returning to her old patterns with food.
She said: “When you’re sober it is unfiltered reality all day every day. You don’t get a brain break.
“I really f****** empathise with anyone who did relapse in those two years because I think it was probably the closest I’ve ever thought about it.
“There were moments when I was like, ‘Should I be starting to cut back on my sugar? Or should I do a cleanse?’
“And that for me is just a slippery slope.
“Anorexia provides a feeling off certainty, because you’re just like, I’m going to control this.”
Fortunately, the ‘Hunger’ hitmaker has a strong support network.
She added: “Luckily, I have people I can talk to and that’s one of the most important things for anyone – to keep talking about it. And not to be ashamed if those thoughts come up.”
