Sarah Harding admits shame over alcohol battle

The Girl Aloud has spoken for the first time since her stint in rehab…

Girl Aloud Sarah Harding has spoken out for the first time about her battle with alcohol, admitting she felt 'ashamed' and 'embarrassed' before her stint in rehab.

PICS: GIRLS ALOUD’S GIRLS NIGHT IN

The recently single singer checked into a private clinic suffering from alcohol and depression issues, after splitting from fiancé Tom Crane earlier this year.

Reports at the time revealed Harding ‘hit rock bottom’ after calling off her engagement to the DJ during a make or break trip to Ibiza at the beginning of September.

And now the singer has spoken for the first time about the dramatic events, explaining she was ‘such a mess’ before entering the clinic, after turning to alcohol to ‘numb’ the pain of the split.

Talking of the moment she left to seek treatment at the facility in Arizona, Harding told Hello magazine: ‘I've been told by those close to me that was when I hit my worst. I was crying hysterically. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, terrified — my emotions were all over the place.’

‘I was so down but I just tried to keep busy and, to numb myself, I was drinking more. It was my way of escaping.’

She added: 'One minute I was deliriously happy, to the point of hysteria, and totally in denial about my problems saying, 'I'm fine, I'm fine'. The next it hit me — and when it did, it hit me hard.'

On her crushing split with Fiancé Tom, she explained: 'Our lives had started to go in different directions without us even realising and we'd become like passing ships.

'He had his career, I had mine, and somehow they didn't seem to marry up. As far as our future plans were concerned, I didn't see how it would work.’ 

But the songstress explained it wasn’t until she had dinner with Girls Aloud band mates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh that she realized the extent of her problem.

‘I wasn't in a good state at all. I was very hungover, but the first thing I wanted to do was open a bottle of wine. I know they were really worried about me.’

Having returned from the clinic, we’re glad to hear the songstress is well on her way to recovery.

‘I have met up with friends in London since I got back and I've realised I can socialise without booze,’ she said.

PICS: GIRLS ALOUD’S GIRLS NIGHT IN

GIRLS ALOUD IN CONCERT