On an upcoming episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, hosted by guest host Lea Michele, singer Melanie Brown clarified the struggles that led her to seek treatment.
"My therapy changed a little bit because I was in a very intense relationship, which you can all read about in my book [Brutally Honest, out in November.]"
She added:
"But no, I’m not an alcoholic. No, I’m not a sex addict. I was with the same person [ex-husband Stephen Belafonte' for 10 years, and that was quite a turmoil, very intense... I do suffer a lot from PTSD."
Brown's episode is set to air Wednesday.
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This post was originally published on August 27, 2018.
Melanie Brown, famously known as Spice Girls' "Scary Spice," will be checking herself into rehab for sex and alcohol addiction next month, according to a statement she released to British tabloid The Sun.
The pop singer and reality TV judge said her decision comes on the heels of a tumultuous divorce from her husband of 10 years, Stephen Belafonte, and the PTSD she claims to have experienced in the aftermath.
"The past six months have been incredibly difficult for me," Brown's statement read. "I've been working with a writer on my book, Brutally Honest, and it has been unbelievably traumatic reliving an emotionally abusive relationship and confronting so many massive issues in my life."
Brown continued to write that she coped with her "massive issues" through sex and alcohol.
"I am being very honest about drinking to numb my pain but that is just a way a lot of people mask what is really going on," she continued. "Sometimes it is too hard to cope with all the emotions I feel. But the problem has never been about sex or alcohol — it is underneath all that. I am fully aware I have been at a crisis point. No one knows myself better than I do — but I am dealing with it."
She concluded her letter by saying she'll be checking herself into a "proper therapy programme" next month in the U.K.. Two representatives for Brown did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.
Brown filed for a divorce from Belafonte in March 2017, citing verbal, and physical abuse as one of the main reasons. She was granted a temporary restraining order against Belafonte last April after claiming that he "threatened to destroy my life in every possible way." Their divorce was finalized in December 2017.
If you are struggling with substance abuse, please call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information.