Married At First Sight UK star Gemma Rose Barnes has bravely opened up about her alcohol addiction to her followers on Instagram. The hair stylist, who was paired with Matt Murray on last year's series of the E4 matchmaking show which sees couples meet for the first time as they walk up the aisle on their wedding day, has received a flood of support after speaking out.
Speaking into the camera Gemma said she had taken to Instagram "to talk about something incredibly important and that's been affecting my life for a really long time." She explained: "I've been struggling with addiction and it's taken over my life."
The mum-of-two feels the coronavirus pandemic was the catalyst for her as she spoke out to raise awareness and help others. "This has been the hardest few years," she said. "I felt covid was biggest catalyst of all my problems."
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Gemma says she has struggled to get better and has been "very, very poorly" but is now getting help. "Addiction is an illness," she said. "It's a disease and there's so much help available."
She explained that her addicton led her to push away friends and family, leaving her isolated and "in a really dark place." Gemma said: "Admitting you have a problem is the first step and for me it's admitting that 'I give up' to the addiction. I can't live my life with this illness any more. My life has become unmanageable."
Gemma said she had previously attempted recovery by herself and had stopped drinking for a few months. "My problem was thinking I could have just one more," she said. "I'm allergic to that lifestyle. It's made me very poorly. I've come to the stage where I didn't want to be part of my addiction."
Gemma is now taking part in a 12 steps of recovery programme and has a sponsor. "It's changed my life already," she said. "In this period I've reached out and asked for help from people who understand because they've been through it."
She said about people with alcohol addiction: "People are sick, they're poorly." And she fears that it's going to become more common. "We're listening to songs glamourising drug culture and alcohol, which is the biggest drug. I can't ever drink agaion. I know that."
Her co-stars led the outpouring of love and well-wishes for Gemma including Adrian Sanderson who said: "Love you Gem." Zoe Clifton and Sophie Brown sent streams of love heart emojis.
Grapefruitgroove applauded: "Well done.. I work in addiction and it’s great to hear people like you speak open and honest and hopefully will encourage others to come forward xx" And Jasminecharlotte told her: "The main thing people need to realise is addiction is an illness! Unfortunately pandemic and covid has had a huge impact on this. Well done speaking out about addiction, people need to realise people don’t choose addiction, addiction chooses people."
Gemma later shared a message of thanks to her followers and loved-ones for their support following her video post. "I was terrified to post but I wanted it to come from me and saying it out loud takes away the power."
She added: "ADDICTION IS NO JOKE ADDICTION IS AN ILLNESS. I was powerless to my addiction and taking back the control has changed that."
She clapped back as one Instagrammer asked: "How did you manage to cut hair if you have a drink problem?" and replied: "Everyone assumes an addict is someone you see on a park bench or in the gutter. You need to really educate yourself on an addict. Assuming I’m drunk all day is why people with a problem think they don’t have one."
Gemma was left distraught on Married at First Sight when she discovered her husband on the show had feelings for another contestant, Whitney Hughes. Their marriage came to a dramatic end during a dinner party with the other couples as it came out that Matt and Whitney had eyes for each other.
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