Susannah Constantine: I was an alcoholic and have been in recovery for seven years

Susannah Constantine
PA

Presenter and stylist Susannah Constantine has revealed she is an alcoholic and has been in recovery for nearly seven years.

The former What Not To Wear host, 58, said she previously felt “a lot of shame” about her drinking.

But the presenter said it has been “liberating” to acknowledge being an alcoholic.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant said: “It’s not something I’ve spoken about before really, but it’s important.

Susannah Constantine
Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodhall
Getty Images

“I’m in recovery, so I’m an alcoholic and I’ve been in recovery for nearly seven years now,” she told the My Mate Bought A Toaster podcast - which is hosted by comedian Tom Price and sees celebrities talk about their Amazon purchases. 

“As an addict, often what you would do, and certainly what I did, I would put all my own defects – I would find someone else to attach them to.

“And so I thought my husband was passive aggressive, but actually I was the one who was passive aggressive.

“And that I’ve realised over time and being in recovery.

“I was the awful, angry ­passive-aggressive and my poor ­husband was the one who had to live with it.”

Constantine, who has previously spoken about giving up drinking, has been in recovery since 2013.

She told the podcast about the moment she acknowledged she had a problem.

“It was so liberating. I felt a lot of shame most of the time… the relief was so immense because I could change it.

Susannah Constantine
Constantine starring on Strictly Come Dancing
PA

“I wasn’t having to try and change someone else. It was down to me.

“I was responsible and accountable for becoming a better person and getting sober and well.

“And so it was the most extraordinary relief to have that lightbulb moment.”

Asked if she drank while she was working and whether it affected her work, Constantine replied: “No, I was highly functioning.”

Constantine is best known for her role on What Not To Wear, which she co-hosted with Trinny Woodall from 2001 to 2005.

The presenter, whose early boyfriends included Princess Margaret's son, Viscount Linley, and Imran Khan, is married to businessman Sten Bertelsen.

They live in West Sussex and have grown up children - Cece, Esme and Joe.

Speaking about her drinking in the past, she told the Mirror in 2017: “Alcohol is fun when you're younger, but it's also a crutch, and it wasn't having a great impact on my life.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in