Shane Richie reveals how his ‘bottle of Jack’ habit led to split from Coleen Nolan
SHANE Richie has revealed his drinking habit and passion for “A bottle of Jack” caused his marriage breakdown with singer Coleen Nolan.
The EastEnders actor has candidly placed the blame on booze 18-years after their divorce.
The TV stars ended their marriage in 1999 over claims Shane had cheated on Coleen.
Yet in a no-holds barred interview Shane, 53, confessed his fondness for a tipple had played a part.
He said to Daily Mail’s Event Magazine: “I lost my first wife through my drinking. A bottle of Jack [Daniel’s] and I was off.
“By 1996 my ego had taken over. I was getting a police escort to nightclubs. I’d be thinking, I’m 30, I’ve got bad skin but all these girls are screaming for me outside.”
Shane continued: “It went to my head and I was a bit out of control.
“I’d just had a Daz ad where they paid me a load of money and I thought I was sorted for life, that it was going to last for ever. I believed the hype and I do regret that now.
“I was lying to myself about the drinking and the women, thinking I was pulling the wool over the public’s eyes. I’d be on TV advocating monogamy (on his marital game show ‘Love Me Do’) while I was having an affair, for God’s sake.”
The actor-turned-singer – who also has children Mackenzie, 11, Lolita, nine, and Romany-Skye, six, with current wife Christie Goddard – admitted it was “tough” reflecting on his alcohol issues in new song ‘The Bottle’s Not Your Friend’.
Meanwhile former couple Shane and Coleen, who are parents to sons Shane, Jr. and Jake, are to be brought back together on live TV for the first time since they parted ways almost two decades ago.
Shane will star as a guest on Coleen’s talk show Loose Women to promote his new country music album, and he will come face-to-face with his high-profile ex.
But the EastEnders star is said to be on good terms with his former wife and has even insisted he is looking forward to their joint TV appearance
He told : “I’m looking forward to going on.
“The girls are great, and I’ll be seeing the ex-wife… remember me?
“I love watching Loose Women. I like to see what I’ve been up to.
Coleen previously opened up about Shane’s cheating in an emotional episode of Loose Women.
The former singer insisted she was devastated by his affair and it look her a long time to get over it.
Coleen explained: “It’s humiliating, for a long time even when I did find out I wanted to try and fight for it.
“People thought I deserved everything I got.”
“It’s when people know and your close friends know. You dread it coming out and it’s the moment that everyone knows. I’d go out supermarket shopping and everyone was so lovely.
“But I’d be like, ‘Don’t hug me else I’ll cry’… It’s been 20 years since me and Shane split up.
“I feel sorry for him because every time people say she was married to Shane Richie, ‘who cheated on her’…
“It’s like OK move on, we’ve moved on.”
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