Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism, drug addiction and suicide which some readers may find distressing
Former Love Island star Jack Fincham has opened up on the negative impact addiction has had on his life, as he revealed that he had spent over £1 million on alcohol, drugs and gambling.
Fincham was recently sentenced to spend six weeks in prison after his dog bit a man. Last month, he was released on bail pending an appeal.
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He had gained fame in 2018 for winning that year's iteration of Love Island alongside Dani Dyer, but after his sentencing in which he was also ordered to pay fines, his representative said he had 'no savings'.
Fincham recently told The Sun in an exclusive interview that he could not blame Love Island for what has happened in his life, admitting that he 'did that myself' and is an addict.
"I can’t say Love Island ruined my life - I did that myself. I, Jack Fincham, am an addict," he said. "I feel like a failure, utterly mortified by the things I have done. I had the world at my feet and I screwed it up.
"Embarrassed just doesn’t touch it. It is hideous. I cry when I think about how I’ve let people down. I have blown more than a million pounds thanks to drugs, booze and gambling.
"Drugs helped my relationship with Dani fail. I was absent, my priorities were wrong, I wasn’t a great boyfriend. I am determined to change my future.
"There’s times I wish I’d never been in the public eye and just stayed exactly as I was. Destruction was always in me, but fame and money made it happen quicker."
Fincham said that the last time he drank alcohol was Christmas Day, and said that on New Year's Day there was 'no drugs or booze for the first time in my adult life'.
He opened up on an incident last year where he jumped over a hotel balcony while on holiday with partner Chloe Brockett, saying he went on IMDb and thought 's**t, I’ve done 30 TV shows' but felt he had 'nothing to show for this' and thought he'd 'messed up' his life.
He said: "I ordered room service - Sambucas, Prosecco, five vodkas at a time. Bang, bang, bang, done. I started gambling on my phone, convinced I was going to win hundreds of thousands of pounds. But then I lost my last penny - or thought I had.
"I was that off my head I hadn’t pressed the button. But I thought I had. I was saying, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore, I’ve had enough. I am a f**king loser.’
"Chloe went downstairs and told them to stop serving me. She asked them to call an ambulance because she was scared I was going to kill myself."
While she was gone Jack threw himself over the balcony in their hotel, and said that if he'd gone over at a different angle, 'I may not be here today'.
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.
Or if you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Mental Health, Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling, Love Island
Joe Harker