Susannah Constantine reveals alcohol hell and how husband bore brunt of passive aggressive behaviour

Susannah Constantine has revealed that she is a recovering alcoholic.

The TV presenter and author, 58, said it was liberating to finally admit to having a drinking problem – and said her husband had had to bear the brunt of her ‘passive aggressive’ behaviour.

Miss Constantine, whose mother was also an alcoholic, said she has been in recovery for seven years.

She made the admission on My Mate Bought A Toaster, a podcast hosted by comedian Tom Price on which celebrities talk about their Amazon orders. 

TV presenter and author Susannah Constantine, 58, (pictured) has revealed that she is a recovering alcoholic and said it was liberating to finally admit to having a drinking problem

She was discussing the book Living With The Passive Aggressive Man: Coping With The Hidden Aggression – From The Bedroom To The Boardroom by Scott Wetzler.

She said: ‘I’m going to say this and I’m going to say this on your podcast and it’s not something I’ve spoken about before, really. It’s important. I’m in recovery.

‘I’m an alcoholic and I’ve been in recovery for nearly seven years now and at that time, as an addict, often what you would do was put all my own defects and find someone else to attach them to, so I thought my husband was passive aggressive, but actually I was the one that was passive aggressive and I’ve realised that over time and in recovery.

‘I was the awful passive aggressive and my poor husband was the one who had to live with it.’

Miss Constantine, who has been in recovery since 2013, said her ‘lightbulb moment’ came when she realised she was accountable for her decisions.

‘It was so liberating and I felt a lot of shame most of the time, but when I realised that, the relief was so immense because I could change it,’ she said.

‘I wasn’t having to change someone else. It was down to me and I was responsible and accountable for becoming a better person and becoming sober and so it was the most extraordinary relief to have that lightbulb moment.’

Asked if her addiction had ever affected her work, she insisted: ‘No. I was highly functioning.’

Though it is the first time she has admitted to being an alcoholic, the former What Not To Wear host has talked previously about giving up alcohol. 

She told the Mirror in 2017: ‘Alcohol is fun when you’re younger, but it’s also a crutch, and it wasn’t having a great impact on my life.

Miss Constantine said her husband Sten Bertelsen (pictured together) had had to bear the brunt of her ‘passive aggressive’ behaviour 

‘Nowadays, I’m happy writing and gathering dust at my desk.’

Miss Constantine, whose early boyfriends included Princess Margaret’s son, Viscount Linley, and Imran Khan, is married to businessman Sten Bertelsen.

They live in West Sussex and have three children who are in their teens and early twenties, Cece, Esme and Joe.

Alongside her friend Trinny Woodall, she presented the fashion advice show What Not To Wear from 2001 to 2005. 

Moving to ITV, the pair hosted Trinny And Susannah Undress The Nation. They have also written books on fashion.

Miss Constantine said she now also needs to seek help for being hooked on shopping. 

‘I’ve learnt that I have a terrible shopping addiction and that I need to go to Shopping Anonymous as well as Alcoholics Anonymous,’ she said.

Miss Woodall, 56, who is currently dating Charles Saatchi, has herself fought alcohol addiction as well as drug use in the past.

The fashion presenter, who has been sober for 31 years, revealed she started drinking at 16 before turning to drugs and entering rehab at the age of 21.