Strictly's Kevin Clifton sought help from US life coach to quit drinking
Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin Clifton has revealed he attended a self-help course to overcome his issues with alcohol.
The36-year-old dancer split from wife and fellow Stritcly pro Karen Hauer, 37, last year and is now dating documentary make Stacey Dooley, 32, after they met on the BBC show.
Clifton revealed on his podcast, The Kevin Clifton Show: “I have not talked about it that much out loud to a lot of people. I have had my own battles with drinking too much. For me I wasn’t living, for a while the life that I wanted to live.
"I felt my world go tighter and tighter and I was getting really sad and I was not sure why or what was happening.”
Read more: 'Strictly' star Kevin Clifton claims he's 'public enemy no. 1'
The Grimsby-born dancer went on: “When I stopped drinking I was speaking to a few people about it on this four-day course I did, an American guy called Tony Robbins.
"He was talking about, like when things are going wrong everyone has the wrong mindset of, ‘You think you have got to be something different to what you are.’
“He was focused on getting you back to who you are and what you want to do and not to compare yourself to anyone else as they are doing what they want to do in their life. You have to focus on who you are and do what you want.
"Once you stop doing this, put the drink down a second and get back in touch with what you want. I felt myself do that over the last year and things have got an awful lot better, but the mindset stuff was like ‘What do you want? Go and do that.’
“We think we have got to achieve something. We are all projecting this perfect wonderful life on social media.”
Last month Clifton revealed how his friedn, comedian Russell Brand, 44, helped him deal with his public divorce.
Read more: Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood says sorry to Stacey Dooley
He said: “It’s as close as I can imagine to what depression might be like. I fell into a real tough spot. I started drinking a lot.
"I was going out and drinking all the time. I talked to some of the people on Strictly about it.
“I was constantly stressed out, constantly emotional, constantly sad. It got to a point, and then me and Karen ended up breaking up. It escalated even more after that. I started drinking more and I was more sad.”
He explained Brand – who has openly discussed his own addiction battles in the past - advised him to try to avoid any alcohol for two months.
Clifton added: “My life over the past year has gone from darkness, despair and self-hatred to everything going so much better.
"I’m so much happier now than I was a year ago.”
Earlier this year Dooley - who began dating Clifton after they won Strictly last year - revealed she no longer drinks alcohol.
Recalling her wild youth she said: “We lost a friend to drugs; we lost another friend to drink. He didn’t reach 18. We all used to drink. Then you get yourself in a mess and you fall asleep and choke on your own sick … That wasn’t the moment I thought: ‘I’m never drinking again.’ But I’m sure it makes you think twice.”
