Ulrika Jonsson, 57, reveals she used alcohol to ‘remember the good times’ and would often ‘black out’ after binge drinking alone as she celebrates being 121 days sober

Ulrika Jonsson has revealed that she used to use alcohol to ‘remember the good times’ and would often ‘black out’ after binge drinking alone.

The broadcaster, 57, who recently celebrated being 121 days sober, was one of TV’s most recognised faces and hosted Gladiators and The Eurovision Song Contest during the height of her fame.  

Telling The Sun: ‘[Alcohol] stifled my anger. I was angry with the world for all sorts of reasons. I would drink to remember the good times and to forget the present bad times’.

Ulrika explained that while she drank to ‘kill her feelings of anxiety’ she was in fact a ‘functioning binge drinker’ and never vomited or appeared dishevelled. 

‘But the number of times I would black out and not recall the night before when I had been drinking alone, were increasing’.

She said: ‘[Alcohol] stifled my anger. I was angry with the world for all sorts of reasons. I would drink to remember the good times and to forget the present bad times’.  (pictured 2022)

The broadcaster, who recently celebrated being 121 days sober, was one of TV’s most recognised faces and hosted Gladiators and The Eurovision Song Contest during the height of her fame

‘[Alcohol] was the perfect escape from my woes. When I drank, I felt I became a better, nicer person, and more equipped to cope. The truth, of course, was quite the opposite. Drinking worsened my anxiety which meant I would ‘self-medicate’ with a drink. This would calm me down, temporarily, then it would return with a vengeance. 

Ulrika recalled how her pal telephoned one morning to reveal they’d spoken the night before when the TV favourite was so drunk she wasn’t making sense. 

The Swedish star said that she ‘sobbed like a child’ following the chat and was ‘full of despair’ as she realised she did in fact have a destructive relationship with alcohol. 

Heavy episodic drinking refers to consuming 60g or more of alcohol – the equivalent of 7.5 units – on at least one occasion in the past 30 days.

This is the same as drinking just over three pints of medium-strength beer, or five small glasses of wine, or around seven single-shot gin and tonics in one sitting.

In December Ulrika candidly opened up about being single at Christmas and admitted she finds it hard playing ‘happy families’ during the festivities. 

She revealed that this year she is not looking forward to Christmas and is feeling the single blues, writing her feature in Fabulous Magazine the model described her ‘Christmas misery’. 

She confessed: ‘To add insult to my Christmas misery, I am still a Single Pringle. I’ve never felt further from the prospect of a delicious snog under the mistletoe in my life.’ 

Ulrika explained that while she drank to ‘kill her feelings of anxiety’ she was in fact a ‘functioning binge drinker’ and never vomited or appeared dishevelled (pictured 2003)

‘[Alcohol] was the perfect escape from my woes. When I drank, I felt I became a better, nicer person, and more equipped to cope. The truth, of course, was quite the opposite’ (pictured 1990)

Ulrika has been single since her 2019 divorce from third husband Brian Monet (pictured with Brian and her daughter Martha in 1012)

Ulrika has been single since her 2019 divorce from third husband Brian Monet, with whom she shares son Malcolm, 15, after the pair parted ways after ten years together. 

Her first marriage to cameraman John Turnbull was in 1990 and they have a son, Cameron, 29.

The presenter’s second marriage in 2003 was to Lance Gerrard-Wright who, at the time, was a contestant on her TV show Mr Right. They share a daughter, Martha, 19.

The mother-of-four also has a daughter, Bo, 23, with ex-boyfriend hotelier, Marcus Kempen, who she separated from in 2000 after two years.

For help with alcohol problems contact AA on 0800 917 7650 or email the helpline at help@aamail.org 

Ulrika’s lost loves: Through the ages

1990 – John Turnbull 

Ulrika’s first marriage was to cameraman John, however things ended in tears after five years when she cheated on him. She blamed her actions on her ages, as she previously said: ‘I was so young. I didn’t know myself. I did some not very nice things. I was unfaithful, which is more than not nice’.

                                                                         1996 – Hunter

Shortly after her divorce, Ulrika sought comfort in the arms of Gladiator’s star James Crossley, after meeting while she acted as host on the show. After their romance, she said: ‘Well, I guess I was infatuated with James. It was a physical thing. And what a nice man he turned out to be’ – as she referenced him selling stories about their romance to the papers.

1998 – Stan Collymore 

Ulrika dated former footballer Stan for a year however their relationship was marred with controversy when she was a victim of domestic abuse. 

 

 

2000 – Markus Kempen

German hotel boss Markus Kempen was her next love and the father of her daughter Bo, now 18. Just days after Bo was born in November 2000, the businessman told his girlfriend that he was leaving the UK to find work abroad – Ulrika hadn’t even taken their child home from the hospital by then.

2002 – Lance Gerrard-Wright  

Husband number two Lance was supposed to be the prize for the female contestants on Mr Right, a 2002 TV dating show she presented. They married in 2003. She had their daughter Martha in 2004 and they separated in 2005.

 

2002 – Sven-Göran Eriksson

Ulrika and the football manager stunned the sport and showbiz world when she confirmed widely-publcised reports of an affair between the duo while he was dating Nancy Dell’Olio. As a result of the affair she was given a column in The News Of The World in 2003 where she would frequently comment on his private life. She was dropped in 2007 after he left as England manager. 

2007 – Brian Monet 

Ulrika and Brian tied the knot in 2008 and share one son, Malcolm, 10. They began their relationship in 2006. In 2014, Brian also adopted her daughter Bo, now 18, from the presenter’s relationship with German hotel boss Markus