Elle Macpherson detailed the depths of her alcoholism and her journey to sobriety in a powerful chapter of her memoir. elle: life, lessons and learning to trust yourself.
As she pondered how to get clean, the 60-year-old Australian supermodel, nicknamed ‘The Body’ at 25, revealed she frequently got blackout drunk and started drinking ‘vodka shots’ after putting her children Cy, 21 years old, and Flynn Busson, 26 years old, to bed.
‘My life seemed incredible to everyone. “On the outside I was doing a wonderful job, but deep down I was really struggling,” he wrote in his book.
Even after giving birth to her youngest child, the Sports Illustrated Swimmer cover story recalled feeling consumed by the desire to drink a bottle of champagne she was given as a gift.
Despite receiving a warning from her two naturopaths that drinking too soon after giving birth would disrupt her hormones, Macpherson admitted that when she was left alone with Cy in her arms, the only thing she “could think about was that bottle of champagne in the ice bucket.”
To cope with motherhood and her career, she turned to vodka to relax at night while desperately trying to maintain her perfect image in the public eye.
Elle Macpherson detailed the depths of her alcoholism and her journey to sobriety in a powerful chapter of her memoir, elle: Life, Lessons & Learning to Trust Yourself; seen in July 2022
At the time, she was in a relationship with French financier Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson, who was often away during the week on business.
This left her in a difficult position as her son, Flynn, was “very sick and in and out of the hospital,” according to Page Six.
Despite considering going to rehab, he told Arki he was fine.
Even after battling pneumonia following Cy’s birth, she quickly returned to work, in an attempt to prove to Arki and herself that motherhood hadn’t slowed her down.
“I loved spending time with Arki and… I wanted to show him that I would be his partner in fun and business while also being the mother of his children,” she wrote. ‘I would go out drinking, party and get sick again. It became a constant repetition: I was in a horrible downward spiral.”
Macpherson also wrote about experiencing terrifying blackouts.
While pondering how to get clean, the 60-year-old Australian supermodel revealed that she often got blackout drunk and started drinking “vodka shots” after putting her sons Cy, 21, and Flynn Busson, 26, to bed.
‘I would be talking to someone and then I would forget what I was saying. “They looked at me curiously, as if waiting for me to continue,” he wrote.
Even so, he continued to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism for his anxiety.
‘I often drank after putting my children to bed. I would sit alone and take shots of vodka and then write to-do lists and letters to my family. I did housework, listened to music until 11 at night, then I went to bed and passed out,’ he explained.
She continued: ‘I would get up in the morning, run six miles and have coffee for breakfast… I would stick my fingers down my throat and make sure I threw up three times before I went to sleep. It was always three times.
‘My life seemed incredible to everyone. “On the outside I was doing a wonderful job but deep down I was really struggling,” he wrote in his book; seen 2019
Despite struggling with her mental health and addiction, Macpherson recalled how people told her she was “very organized.”
‘I was really proud of that. I guess I had to be organized because I was drinking and I never wanted anyone to know,” the mother of two wrote. ‘So I made sure the house was clean and tidy; I made sure I looked great and that the kids were perfect.’
Those closest to Macpherson, however, began to suspect that something was wrong.
His naturopaths were among the first to suggest rehabilitation.
Macpherson also wrote about her terrible blackouts and what led her to go to rehab.
The star was nicknamed ‘The Body’ at age 25 (pictured in 1990)
Before agreeing to go to rehab, he insisted on spending the summer in Ibiza with his family, against the advice of his therapist.
Although he managed not to drink for the first few weeks, things became complicated after he was unable to accompany Arki and his friends to a night out at a trendy club.
After putting his children to bed, he decided to open a bottle of vodka.
After a battle to open it, he broke the glass lid.
“I quickly poured myself a drink that might have been full of glass shards. And I drank it,” he wrote. ‘I remember thinking: I love this feeling. I had missed him so much.
Last year he celebrated 20 years of sobriety.
At the time, his “youngest son was only six months old” and his “eldest was five and a half years old.”
Once in rehab at a facility in Arizona, Macpherson recalled feeling “humiliated and angry” at being lumped in with those struggling with anorexia because of their thinness.
Ultimately, he said rehab was justified in classifying her in that group because he realized she “was kind of controlling” with her diet.
While in rehab, she called herself ‘Mac’ to keep a low profile and was worried about being recognized.
Last year he celebrated 20 years of sobriety.
Macpherson pictured with her son Cy Busson in 2022
The model seen with her son Flynn Busson in 2018
Previously, Macpherson stated that he “never regretted” cutting alcohol out of his life.
“I stopped drinking in 2003 because I felt like I couldn’t be fully present in my life, and it was a wonderful springboard to getting to know myself on a deeper level,” she said. Body and soul in 2023. “While it took discipline and perseverance, the bottom line is that you can’t be well and present in your life if you’re not present and well, and alcohol doesn’t really support that.”
And he concluded: “It is very difficult to get to know yourself if you are falling asleep.”
Macpherson also insisted that she does not preach sobriety to others and is “not interested in telling other people what to do” with their lives.