Florence Welch has a lot of empathy for anyone who suffered a relapse during lockdown.
The Florence + the Machine frontwoman, who got clean eight years ago, admitted in an interview with U.S. Vogue magazine that she found the lockdowns in 2020 difficult for her sobriety and can understand why others may have relapsed.
“When you’re sober, it is unfiltered reality all day, every day. You don’t get a brain break. I really f**king empathise with anyone who did relapse in those two years because I think it was probably the closest I’ve ever thought about it,” she said.
The 35-year-old, who had an eating disorder as a teenager, added that it was “a miracle” she didn’t fall back into her old habits during that time.
“There were moments when I was like, ‘Should I be starting to cut back on my sugar? Or should I do a cleanse?’ And that for me is just a slippery slope,” she confessed. “Anorexia provides a feeling of certainty, because you’re just like, ‘I’m going to control this.’ Luckily, I have people I can talk to, and that’s one of the most important things for anyone… to keep talking about it. And not to be ashamed if those thoughts come up.”
Florence celebrated seven years of sobriety on Instagram in February 2021 and encouraged those who were struggling to keep going.
“If you are feeling shaky around ED issues, drugs or alcohol, I completely understand. The desire to disassociate is so strong. But please don’t give up. We are going to need you on the other side,” she wrote at the time.
