James ‘Arg’ Argent "hated" Gemma Collins at the height of his cocaine addiction.
The 32-year-old TV star has suggested his girlfriend’s "tough love" helped to rescue him from potential tragedy as his drug use spiralled out of control – even though he resented her for it at the time.
He shared: "I really feel for Gemma. When I was deep into my addiction I would hate Gemma. She refused to cover up for me. She refused to lie for me.
"She would never lie for me. I hated her because I wanted to almost get away with it. She gave me some tough love for sure and she was hard on me but thank God she was."
Arg was rushed to hospital on two occasions during his cocaine troubles, and on reflection, he thinks Gemma might have saved him from tragedy.
He told ‘This Morning’: "If it wasn’t for Gemma calling ambulances for me to my house, who knows what could have happened. I put my own life at risk."
Arg thinks he now owes it to various people who have supported him over the years to stay clear of drugs and to get his life back on track.
He said: "The only way I can make amends with them is by staying clean and sober. It’s all good making these promises, but action speaks louder than words."
Arg has also thanked Mark Wright for helping him to get help.
Speaking about his former ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ co-star, Arg – who spent ten weeks at a rehab centre in Thailand – shared: "Mark is my best friend. He’s always been there through my ups and downs.
"He has always given me tough love. Throughout the whole of December he was begging me to go into rehab, but I had given up hope and didn’t want to stop.
"I rung him up on boxing day and said I can’t do this anymore. Every time you relapse the relapses get worse and worse.
"It was the first time I actually thought I’m actually close to death. If I didn’t sort myself out, I could have died. He went out of his way to get me into a rehab in Thailand and helped me with the financial side of things.
"I am forever grateful. I am lucky to have friends like that."