Elle Macpherson has opened up about her secret battle with alcohol addiction, revealing she used to drink heavily after putting her children to bed.
The 60-year-old supermodel, who has now been sober for more than 20 years, revealed her alcoholism in her memoir Life, Lessons, and Learning to Trust Yourself, which was published in Australia on Tuesday.
She also appeared in the Carrie and Tommy radio show to talk about taking 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 debate with: ‘You talk about how you would put the kids to bed and then take shots of vodka until you practically passed out.
‘Did other people know you were doing that?’
“No,” Elle replied, to which Carrie, 43, persisted and asked how long the WelleCo founder kept her addiction “hidden.”
“I didn’t keep it hidden, it was just a function of my life,” explained Elle, who also revealed that she regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings.
“My children’s father (Arpad Busson) lived in another country and was only home on weekends. I was home with the children and that’s what I did.”
Elle Macpherson, 60 (pictured), has opened up about her secret battle with alcohol addiction and revealed she used to drink heavily after putting her children to bed.
The model, who in her prime was known as The Body, went on to say that she used to make herself vomit three times before going to bed to try and get rid of the alcohol in her body.
“I used to think that if I threw up I wouldn’t have any alcohol in my system. Crazy!” 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 at peace inside.”
This comes after Elle was branded “shockingly irresponsible” after treating her breast cancer with a “heart-led holistic approach”, ignoring the advice of 32 doctors.
Her memoir revealed that seven years ago she had been secretly diagnosed with HER2-positive estrogen-receptive intraductal carcinoma (a type 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 published in Australia on Tuesday. Pictured with Yann Gamblin in 1990
The disease was officially diagnosed after Elle underwent a lumpectomy, which is a treatment option that removes early-stage breast cancer.
Doctors suggested a mastectomy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction to prevent the cancer from returning.
But Elle rejected the experts’ advice and recruited a group of holistic specialists to “address the emotional (and) physical factors associated with breast cancer.”
The model rented a house in Phoenix, Arizona and spent eight months there, with regular visits from two therapists, a chiropractor, a holistic dentist and a doctor.
She appeared on the Carrie & Tommy radio show (pictured) to talk about taking shots of vodka until she “passed out” while her sons Flynn, now 26, and Cy, now 21, were in bed.
Other “alternative” doctors on Elle’s team included discredited anti-vaxxer Dr Andrew Wakefield, whom she dated in 2017, around the time of her diagnosis.
The doctor was expelled in 2010 for publishing an “irresponsible” and fraudulent article linking the MMR vaccine to autism.
Elle has now revealed to Women’s Weekly that she is in clinical remission, meaning she has no signs or symptoms of cancer.
The mother of two admitted that her eldest son, Flynn, who was 19 at the time of his diagnosis, “was not comfortable at all with my choice.”
“My kids’ father (Arpad Busson) lived in another country and was only home on the weekends. I was home with the kids and that’s what I did,” she told Elle. Pictured with her sons Flynn and Cy in 2011
Fans have since slammed Elle for being “reckless”, while doctors in the cancer field said she was promoting “dangerous” therapies that could “cost women their lives”.
As for X, fans wrote: “This is shockingly irresponsible of Elle MacPherson. She was lucky that the lumpectomy clearly removed all the cancer cells and it didn’t spread, but to imply that it “cured” the cancer altogether is incredibly reckless.”
Another said: “I totally agree. I’m undergoing treatment for breast cancer right now and I see people in oncology fighting to stay alive. I think Elle should be more aware.”
A third added: “It’s a worrying message. I’m not against holistic therapy or anything else that gives you the most peace of mind possible, but if they hadn’t removed all the cancer I’m not so sure there would be a remission. Sadly cancer is unique to each individual.”
The model, known as The Body in her prime, went on to say that she used to make herself vomit three times before bed to try and get rid of the alcohol in her body. Pictured with her children in 2023