Shane Richie’s drinking caused the breakdown of his marriage to Coleen Nolan.
The ‘EastEnders’ star – who was married to the ‘Loose Women’ panelist from 1990 to 1999 and has two sons, Shane Jr., 29, and Jake, 25, with her – admits his boozing spiralled out of control when his ego had "taken over" and he regrets his wild partying now.
He said: "I lost my first wife through my drinking. A bottle of Jack [Daniel’s] and I was off…
"By 1996 my ego had taken over. I was getting a police escort to nightclubs. I’d be thinking, I’m 30, I’ve got bad skin but all these girls are screaming for me outside.
"It went to my head and I was a bit out of control.
"I’d just had a Daz ad where they paid me a load of money and I thought I was sorted for life, that it was going to last for ever. I believed the hype and I do regret that now.
"I was lying to myself about the drinking and the women, thinking I was pulling the wool over the public’s eyes. I’d be on TV advocating monogamy (on his marital game show ‘Love Me Do’) while I was having an affair, for God’s sake."
The 53-year-old actor-turned-singer – who also has children Mackenzie, 11, Lolita, nine, and Romany-Skye, six, with current wife Christie Goddard – admitted it was "tough" reflecting on his alcohol issues in new song ‘The Bottle’s Not Your Friend’.
He said: "It was tough to write. It’s pretty personal. ‘It won’t keep you warm and it won’t have your back in a fight.’ That’s what it is about."
Meanwhile, Shane is a big fan of British TV but is shocked by some current programming.
He told Event magazine: "Have you seen ‘Naked Attraction’? It’s ‘Blind Date’ with your c**k out. What Cilla would’ve made of it, I don’t know but that’s what you’re up against now, so to speak."
Shane Richie’s drinking destroyed marriage
