Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has opened up about her battle with booze, stating that before her stint in rehab she was "such a mess."
As we previously reported, the 30-year old checked herself into a clinic in Arizona to seek treatment for depression and alcohol abuse, after her split with DJ Tom Crane drove her to the bottle.
Speaking for the first time since she left the facility last month, Sarah claims that her boozing transformed her into an emotional wreck, leaving her no choice but to seek help for her addictions.
The Loving Kind singer 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 continued: "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."
She went on to explain that the final straw came after she went for dinner with GA bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, where all she wanted to do was drink.
Harding revealed: "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."
Sarah, who is said to have met a new man following her split with Crane, also ruled out a reunion with the DJ, stating: "Our lives had started to go in different directions. We'd become like passing ships.As far as our future plans were concerned, I didn't see how it would work."
Since retuning from rehab, Sarah added: "I have met up with friends in London since I got back and I've realised I can socialise without booze."
WATCH GIRLS ALOUD'S OFFICIAL TOP 20 HERE!
Watch MTV News on the hour every hour on MTV - Sky Channel 126 and Virgin Channel 311