Lee Ryan has revealed he would drink a bottle of whiskey a night after he was made bankrupt in 2013.
The Blue singer, 35, admitted he was ‘drowning his sorrows’ with booze during the dark time in his life – and said a low point was urinating in a prison cell in a bid to get beaten up by police officers.
‘If I had to quantify it, I could safely say at that point in my life, I was drinking around a bottle of whisky a night,’ he told the Daily Star.
Problem: Lee Ryan has revealed he turned to drinking a bottle of whiskey a night after he was made bankrupt in 2013 (pictured with Blue bandmate Simon Webbe in 2003)
He explained that despite how much he was drinking, he only realised he had a problem when he went to the shops to buy a pint of milk and found himself buying whiskey instead.
The Strictly Come Dancing star added that he was in a shaky mental state when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2014.
When he was arrested for drink-driving and held in a police cell after leaving the house, he ‘taunted’ the officers there.
Speaking in the tell-all book All Rise, he said: ‘The destructive behaviour I’d been hell-bent on for over a year had reached its only logical conclusion.
Vow: It comes as the singer has vowed to stay away from women during Strictly Come Dancing (pictured with dance partner Nadiya Bychkova)
‘The reports said that I urinated in the police cell. I don’t actually remember but the truth is, I was hoping they would beat me up so I may well have been taunting them to fight me. When people are telling you over and over again you’re a piece of s*** you start to believe it.
‘I wanted them to chuck me away and leave me alone. I wanted to get lost. I think you reflect what you’re given so I’d absorbed all the anger and abuse that had been directed at me and this was how it was coming out.’
Nightmare: The Blue singer, 35, admitted that he was ‘drowning his sorrows’ with booze during the time in his life – and said a low point was urinating in a prison cell so he could get beaten up by police officers
Lee went to rehab for a second time after that and gradually overhauled his life by going to the gym and weaning himself off alcohol.
The Fly By singer is now back in the limelight with his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing – and has been making headlines with his close bond with dancing partner and Playboy model Nadiya Bychkova.
However Lee has reportedly sworn off women during his time on the show in a bid to avoid the disastrous love triangle he had with Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz on CBB.
Extreme: ‘If I had to quantify it, I could safely say at that point in my life, I was drinking around a bottle of whisky a night,’ he told the Daily Star
Strictly backing dancer Neil Jones, 35, who lives in the same building as Nadiya, said there’s nothing going on with her and Lee.
‘I spoke to her a few times and they just get on really well, there’s nothing happening. I know Lee is like ‘I don’t want any of that happening especially with Big Brother”.’ he told the Sunday Mirror.
‘He just wants to get on and dance but he is such a nice guy he likes to talk with people and get on with people,’ he went on.
‘Nadiya has got a fiancé, they said it all about her last year too.
Staying away: It comes as Lee has reportedly decided to swear off women during Strictly avoid a repeat of the disastrous love triangle he was in on CBB with Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz (pictured) in 2014
Just pals: Strictly backing dancer Neil Jones, 35, who lives in the same building as Nadiya, said there’s nothing going on with her and Lee