Peter Andre had a nervous breakdown at the height of his pop star fame in the nineties.
The singer, now 50, sought psychiatric help at the age of 25 after he descended into a ‘blur of nightclubs and groupies’, before spending six years in psychiatric units and on medication.
While the Mysterious Girl hitmaker has insisted he never touched drugs during the hedonistic days of his youth, he admits he lost himself while he had ‘a lot of casual sex’.
Reality star Peter said his shirtless posing and ‘arrogance’ was all part of it as he sought out external validation and acceptance.
He claims he still suffers with brain fog panic attacks to this day after his past poor mental health, while he developed agoraphobia – a fear of going out – and vertigo.
Troubles: Peter Andre, now 50, had a nervous breakdown at the height of his pop star fame in the nineties
Help: The singer sought psychiatric help at the age of 25 after he descended into a ‘blur of nightclubs and groupies’, before spending six years in psychiatric units and on medication (pictured in 1996)
Peter told The Times: ‘It was an insecurity thing, trying to prove a point because of the years that you weren’t accepted.
‘I don’t like who I became when I was just going with girls and not caring. I just went off on a tangent.’
After his breakdown, Peter returned to his family home in Australia before going into hiding in America.
He insists he is a completely different person today, and is much more modest and calm, blaming his arrogance when he was younger on being ‘just a self-defence mechanism’.
‘In the Nineties guys were thinking, “Are you looking at my girl?” and all that. But now I’m not threatening in any sort of way, shape or form,’ he said.
Peter’s star rose again in 2004 when he appeared on ITV jungle reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, where he met his ex-wife Katie Price.
The entertainer has had a successful show business career that has lasted more than 30 years after he first signed a record deal at the age of 16.
And he insists it’s his ‘niceness’ and ‘amazing team’ who have helped him stay in the game for so long.
Partying: While the Mysterious Girl hitmaker has insisted he never touched drugs during the hedonistic days of his youth, he admits he lost himself while he had ‘a lot of casual sex’ (pictured in 1996)
Seeking approval: Reality star Peter said his shirtless posing and ‘arrogance’ was all part of it as he sought out external validation and acceptance (pictured in 1996)
Power couple: After a brief dip in popularity, Peter went on to build a reality TV career with his first wife, Katie Price after they got together on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2004
‘If you’re nice in this industry and you get on with people, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to fall. But when you’re trying to get up, a person’s going to reach out and help because of how you’ve been nice,’ he explained.
Peter first rose to fame in 1989, when at 16 years old he became a contestant on an Australian talent show called New Faces.
As a result, he was offered a recording contract.
Peter was then sent to the UK where he recorded his debut single Drive Me Crazy, and his breakthrough hit, Gimme Little Sign.
After a brief dip in popularity, Peter went on to build a reality TV career with his first wife, Katie Price after they got together on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Meanwhile, Peter – whose son Junior, 17, has launched a music career – recently reminisced about his nineties pop stars days, admitting he once stripped off to share a naked sauna with the Backstreet Boys whilst on tour with them in Germany.
He admitted that though they ‘weren’t too keen on it’, they just ‘looked at each other giggling’.
Reminiscing: It comes after Peter revealed he once shared a naked sauna with the Backstreet Boys whilst on tour with them in Germany
The Backstreet Boys – composed of members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, and Kevin Richardson – rose to fame in 1993 and went on to sell over 100million records worldwide, and Peter was given the chance to tour with them.
Speaking to The Times last month, he explained: ‘I toured with the Backstreet Boys for a year, and we would play basketball in the afternoons then hang out in the best restaurants and nightclubs after the shows, but one time we decided to visit a steam room and sauna in Germany.
‘We turned up in our towels and soon realised that everyone else was naked, which we weren’t too keen on.
‘It was a mixed sauna too, so we were just sitting there surrounded by all these naked men and women. We all just looked at each other giggling.’
Iconic: The Backstreet Boys – composed of members (L-R) Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson – rose to fame in 1993 and went on to sell over 100million records worldwide (pictured in 1997)
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