Elle Macpherson has opened up about her secret battle with alcohol addiction, revealing that she used to drink heavily after putting her children to bed.
The 60-year-old supermodel, who has been sober for more than 20 years, revealed her alcoholism in her memoir Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, released in Australia on Tuesday.
She also appeared on the Carrie and Tommy radio show in which she openly revealed that she drank shots of vodka until she “passed out” while her sons Flynn, now 26, and Cy, now 21, were in bed.
Host Carrie Bickmore opened the conversation with: ‘You talk about putting the kids to bed and then drinking shots of vodka until you almost pass out.
‘Did other people know you were doing that?’
“No,” Elle replied, to which Carrie, 43, pressed her, asking how long the WelleCo founder had kept her addiction “hidden.”
“I didn’t hide it, it was just part of my life,” explains Elle, who also reveals that she regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings.
The father of my children [Arpad Busson] lived in another country and he was only home on weekends. I was home with the kids and that’s what I did.’
Elle Macpherson, 60, (pictured) has opened up about her secret battle with alcohol addiction, revealing she used to drink heavily after putting her children to bed.
The model, who was known as The Body in her heyday, said she used to make herself throw up three times before going to bed to flush the alcohol from her system.
“I always thought that if I threw up, I wouldn’t have any alcohol in my system. How crazy is that?” Elle laughed.
She added that her battle with alcoholism and obsessive vomiting after drinking stemmed from “trying to control the outside world so I could feel peaceful inside.”
She has been branded ‘shockingly irresponsible’ after treating her breast cancer with a ‘heart-driven holistic approach’, ignoring the advice of 32 doctors.
Her memoir reveals that seven years ago she was secretly diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma, a form of breast cancer.
The supermodel, who has been sober for more than 20 years, revealed her alcoholism in her memoir Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, which was released in Australia on Tuesday. Pictured with Yann Gamblin in 1990
The disease was officially diagnosed after Elle underwent breast-conserving surgery, a treatment option that removes cancer from the breast at an early stage.
The doctors suggested a mastectomy along with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and reconstruction of her breast to prevent the cancer from returning.
But Elle ignored the advice of experts and called in a group of holistic specialists to ‘address emotional issues’. [and] ‘physical factors associated with breast cancer’.
The model rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona and spent eight months there, regularly seeing two therapists, a chiropractor, a holistic dentist and a doctor.
She appeared on the radio show Carrie & Tommy (pictured) to open up about drinking shots of vodka until she “passed out” while her sons Flynn, now 26, and Cy, now 21, were in bed
Other ‘alternative’ medics on Elle’s team included discredited anti-vaxxer Dr Andrew Wakefield, whom she dated in 2017, around the time she was diagnosed.
The doctor was struck off in 2010 over an “irresponsible” and fraudulent article linking the MMR shot to autism.
Elle told Women’s Weekly that she is in clinical remission, meaning she no longer has any signs or symptoms of cancer.
The mother of two admitted that her eldest son Flynn, who was 19 when he was diagnosed, was “not happy with my choice at all.”
The father of my children [Arpad Busson] lived in another country and was only home on weekends. I was home with the kids and that’s what I did,” Elle said. Pictured with sons Flynn and Cy in 2011
Fans have since criticised Elle for being “reckless”, while cancer doctors said she promoted “dangerous” therapies that could “cost women their lives”.
Fans wrote about X: ‘This is shockingly irresponsible of Elle MacPherson. She was lucky that the lumpectomy clearly removed all the cancer cells and that it didn’t spread, but to imply that she “cured” cancer holistically is reckless.’
Another said: ‘Totally agree. I am currently being treated for BC and I see people in oncology fighting to stay alive. I think Elle needs to be more aware.’
A third added: ‘This is a disturbing message. I’m not against holistic therapy and whatever gives you the best rest, but if they hadn’t removed all the cancer I’m not so sure about remission. Cancer is unfortunately unique to each individual.’
The model, who was known as The Body in her heyday, said she made herself throw up three times before bed to flush the alcohol from her system. Pictured with her sons in 2023