Jo O'Meara has opened up on her gambling addiction.
The S Club 7 singer appeared on today's edition of Lorraine. She told the Scottish presenter that she developed an addiction to playing fruit machines when she was a part of the pop group.
She said: "With the band, it was so busy and so hectic, I just used it as a bit of escapism to run away with myself for a little while. I got caught up in the flashing lights and getting the three sevens or leprechauns, or whatever it would be. It was just a bit too much fun.”
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It was the first time Jo has addressed her struggles on TV since she revealed she had an addition problem when she was younger. The 43-year-old said the band knew about the habit, but she never considered it a problem.
She said: "Yeah, they did. When we used to travel around the county, it was like, ‘Where’s Jo?’ Everyone would know - ‘Oh, she’s on the fruit machines.’ But it was just what I did. I don’t think I ever did. When I look back I think, ‘I shouldn’t really have been doing that’, because what you learn as you get older is you never win.”
Jo said her addiction wasn't about the money and revealed she has now overcome the problem. She said: "It was about beating the machine, getting the three sevens, the excitement of that was making me want to do it even more. It’s not the case at all. It’s happening a lot more than it has before. I wanted to reach out to people and say, ‘I’ve been there myself, I understand it, there’s no shame in picking the phone up and asking for help.’”
Jo appeared on the show to raise awareness and urged anyone suffering to seek support. She said: "You never win… that’s why I’m here today, to highlight it because it’s everywhere.”
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV and the ITV Hub
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