‘It caused them nothing but heartache and pain’: Danniella Westbrook says her past addiction battle made her a bad mum
Danniella Westbrook has admitted her past substance abuse problems made her a bad mum.
The former EastEnders actress, 46, who had struggled with a cocaine addiction and relapsed in 2014 after 14 years of sobriety, admitted her issues meant she ‘wasn’t present’ in her children Kai and Jodie’s lives.
The media personality said on her 23-year-old son’s Firecast podcast: ‘It’s caused you nothing but heartache and pain. It’s about consistency, love, nurturing, stability. All right, I was clean for 14 years. But before that your life was s***.’
‘Your life was s***’: Danniella Westbrook has admitted her past substance abuse made her a bad mum (pictured with then-husband Kevin Jenkins and kids Kai and Jodie in 2004)
The TV star, who shares Kai with ex Robert Fernandez and Jody, 19, with her former spouse Kevin Jenkins, added: ‘I’m not going to beat around the bush. You might have looked like you had everything in the world, but your life was s*** because I wasn’t present.’
Danniella said her kids haven given her ‘tough love’ over the years after becoming “exasperated” with her antics, and apologised for bringing ‘shame’ to their upbringing.
She explained: ‘You have given me tough love … there have been times when you’ve not spoken to me for months because you’re that exasperated.
‘I know I’ve caused you guys a lot of hassle you didn’t need – a lot of shame, a lot of bullying. I don’t know if I would have the love and the patience if it was one of my family members.’
Reflection: The former EastEnders actress, 46, admitted her issues meant she ‘wasn’t present’ in her children Kai and Jody’s lives
”I don’t make a decision today in my life without consulting you or Jodie’: Now, the thespian insisted she’s dedicated to making sure she’s a good mum (pictured with Kai in 2017)
The soap star has since ditched drugs and alcohol, celebrating 19 months of sobriety.
Danniella shared: ‘I just shut that other door like it never happened. I just expect everybody to catch up to where I am.
‘I can’t expect that just because I’ve got clean that all of a sudden everyone’s going to forget the pain I’ve caused. I’ve got to realise that it might take other people a bit longer to come around because I have hurt people.’
Now, the thespian insisted she’s dedicated to making sure she’s a good mum, and always consults her daughter and son on her big life decisions.
Past: The thespian had struggled with a cocaine addiction and relapsed in 2014 after 14 years of sobriety (pictured in 1999)
She told Kai: – whether that’s financially, where I’m living, what I’m doing – without consulting you and Jodie.’
In August, Danniella claimed she was left bruised after her phone was stolen by a thief armed with a baseball bat.
The CBB star said she reported the incident to the police as she shared the terrifying experience with her 200,000 followers on Twitter.
She wrote on the social media platform: ‘So had my phone stolen off me yesterday… some people are just scum.
Shocked: In August, the CBB star claimed she was left bruised after her phone was stolen by a thief armed with a baseball bat
The Walthamstow native later added: ‘I’m ok tbh had much worse when I was in full blown addiction but not getting any younger and the shock was actually the worst of it.
‘Phone blocked and new one on the way’ (sic).
A month earlier, Danniella revealed her divorce from estranged husband Kevin has been granted, six years after they separated.
She split from Kevin in 2014 after 13 years of marriage, subsequently asking him for a divorce on Twitter on his birthday last August.
Officially over: A month earlier, Danniella revealed her divorce from estranged husband Kevin has been granted, six years after they separated (pictured in 2002)