Pete Doherty has unveiled the results of a dramatic weight loss transformation after saying he was “a very sick man”.
The 45-year-old rock musician and The Libertines singer has been open about abusing hard drugs including cocaine and heroin during the peak of his career. Doherty was also famous for dating the late “Back to Black” singer Amy Winehouse before she died from alcohol poisoning.
In an interview with The Guardian earlier this year, he revealed the impact of the lifestyle had left him with a type two diabetes diagnosis and “cholesterol problems”, as well as what some remarked was weight gain. He admitted that he felt that “death is lurking”.
However, he appears to have turned things around, revealing a whole new look that has left fans calling the singer “beautiful” and remarking on him “doing well”. The singer has said he has cut out alcohol, and told the Evening Standard that a liver doctor had said, “I need to change my diet - too much cheese, too much milk.”
In a picture posted to Instagram on Friday (20 December), Doherty is sat having a smoke on the stairs of what appears to be his house. The Babyshambles frontman is decked out in a smart suit, bright red socks and loafers, and a flat cap. He is sitting with his dog, Gladys.
He appears to have shed some weight in the image as fans were left commenting on the transformation.
“You are looking fabulous!” said one person, while another encouraged, “Looking sharper and sharper. Keep it up!!!”
“I’m glad you’re doing well,” commented one person, as another added, “so beautiful”.
“I’ve battered it, haven’t I? I’ve f***ing caned it,” he told Louis Theroux about his struggles with addiction on BBC series Louis Theroux Interviews…, adding: “[The] heroin and the crack… I surrendered to that, and then it was cocaine and the smoking and the alcohol, and now it’s cheese and the saucisson, and the sugar in the tea.”
Doherty said doctors told him he needs to change his diet as it would lead to “diabetes and cholesterol problems” and told The Guardian: “Yeah, I am a bit of a glutton. It’s not a joke. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. And at the moment, I’m lacking the discipline to tackle cholesterol.”
The singer said he is sober and that his bandmate Carl Barat created a strict no-alcohol rule while making their latest Libertines record. Doherty was “relieved” and “proud” to realise he could make music without drinking.
This article was amended on 21 December 2024. It previously inaccurately stated that Amy Winehouse had died from a drug overdose but that was not the case, she died from alcohol poisoning.
