Tanya Bardsley quit alcohol after 10 hour binges caused major ‘hangxiety’
Real Housewives of Cheshire star Tanya Bardsley quit alcohol after 10 hour drinking binges affected her mental health - and stopped her getting out of bed for 'days' after.
The former model, 40, found that her infrequent but heavy boozing sessions had negative effects that would last long after she had had her last sip - and trapped her in a ‘vicious cycle’ of eating badly, spending too much money and having a ‘pot belly’.
In a new interview published in Closer, she said: ‘The next morning, I'd be crippled with anxiety, which would go on for about a week. My poor husband would have to drag me out of bed, and you just lose all motivation for life.’
But her party lifestyle was also starting to affect her kids, with the WAG admitting that she was snappy and short tempered with sons Rocco, 12, Renz, eight, Ralphi, five, and her daughter Gabby, 19 - and her footballer hubby Phil Bardsley.
Tanya quit the ITV Be reality show in 2021 to focus on her recent ADHD diagnosis. She has also spoken openly about her struggles with depression - a condition that does not mix well with heavy drinking.
She said: ‘If you're feeling low or have any kind of mental health problem, alcohol is like pouring ethanol on to an open fire.’
The turning point for Tanya embracing sobriety was one particular hangover which left her feeling like she 'didn't want to live anymore'. To make herself accountable, she decided to send videos of herself to her friends so they could encourage her to go teetotal.
She also turned to DJ Fat Tony, a former alcohol and drug addict, for help. He would call her after a night out and ask her if how she was currently feeling was worth the drinking session.
Tony also advised that she start drinking non-alcoholic beer to stop people quizzing her about why she was staying sober, helping her abstain from cocktails and shots.
Tanya's journey to sobriety was a gradual process, spurred on by 'dark' moments asking "is feeling like this really worth a night out?" or struggling to remember what she had said or done the night prior.
In June 2020 she told The Hot Mess Mums Club podcast, hosted by Jenny Powell and Kelly Pegg, that she realised that she was drinking too much while filming for RHOC, and it was leaving feeling on edge.
She said: 'I was getting to the stage working on Housewives where we always had a prop – even just one glass a day while you’re filming – and I thought, "This is too much." I used to just be like a human bin. I was like, "Yeah, I’ll have a Jägerbomb." But it gives me bad anxiety.'
Then last year, Speaking to Metro, she confessed: 'I was finding alcohol really set off my anxiety so I’ve had to knock that on the head... I was never a drinker every day, I was once a week, but I would drink to oblivion. Once that bottle’s popped, you can’t stop!'
And then in January this year she posted some very glam photos to Instagram heralding her return to the Cheshire social scene - but sober.
She wrote: 'I’m ready to get back to partying but not to drink I’m staying sober it holds me back so much from achieving my dreams, I don’t have a drink problem but I have a problem with the hangovers and the anxiety it brings and the cringing at what I’ve said and done and the depression and sickness for days after plus it ages you so much not to mention it poisons you and costs a fortune.'
Find out more about hangxiety - and get expert advice about how to stop it.
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