I was a heroin addict who shocked viewers on Jeremy Kyle – now I’m unrecognisable & have found my happy ever after

WALKING up the aisle, in her stunning white wedding dress Michelle Long, was glowing with happiness and health. After the wedding ceremony she and her new husband Christopher, 42, headed to their reception, and although she had every reason to celebrate, they didn’t have a champagne toast – instead their 150 guests raised a glass of orange squash to the newlyweds. Michelle Long was a drug addict for 20 years, but has now turned her life around, and wed Christopher Credit: Supplied The former heroin addict and prostitute has made an incredible transformation since getting help Credit: The Sun For their wedding day in April 2022 was a celebration not only of their love but of Michelle’s sobriety. She’s now been clean for eight years and can barely recognise the woman she once was. For over two decades her life was blighted by an extreme addiction to hard drugs and alcohol. Her daughter, Charlotte, now 28, was so desperate for her mother to recover that she contacted ITV’s now defunct Jeremy Kyle show begging for help. When Michelle appeared on the show in November 2018 she was emaciated, her cheeks were sunken and her collar bones jutted out. Producers sent her for three months of rehab and since then she’s been clean and not only her appearance has changed dramatically but her whole life. Michelle, 47, who lives with her husband Christopher, 42, a drug and alcohol support worker, and their two French bulldogs Coco and Princess in Luton, says: “I can barely believe how far I’ve come. “I started taking drugs when I was about 17 – back then it was party drugs like cannabis, speed and ecstasy, it felt like harmless fun. “But, as I always warn people, you never know where that will lead.” Michelle doesn’t sugar coat the depths she sunk to in her bid to warn others about the dangers. “By the end I was addicted to crack cocaine and heroin, taking a hit every hour day and night, and drinking a bottle of vodka a day,” she admits. “I was at rock bottom and suicidal, worn down by endlessly looking for my next fix – at my worst I was spending hundreds of pounds a day on drugs, getting the cash through crimes like shoplifting, and sex work. “I was so thin I wore children’s clothes, often I’d only eat a bar of shoplifted chocolate a day. Nearly everyone had given up on me. “But now my life is wonderful – I’m married to the love of my life and I spend my time supporting other women through their recovery. I’m close to my daughter and have six beautiful grandchildren. Ex prostitute Michelle appeared on The Jeremy Kyle show in November 2018 Credit: Supplied Michelle with daughter, Charlotte, now 28, who was so desperate for her mother to recover that she contacted the Jeremy Kyle show begging for help Credit: Supplied “I want people to know you can be as low as it’s possible to be and still get your happy ever after.” Michelle’s drug use started when she was in her teens. She remembers having a happy childhood, with a loving mum and stepdad, and two brothers and a sister. Her mother was a great cook and evenings were spent watching television as a family. But despite feeling loved at home, Michelle struggled at school, and recalls she never felt comfortable in her own skin. Michelle described Christopher as the ‘kindest, most amazing man imaginable’ Credit: Supplied For over two decades her life was blighted by an extreme addiction to hard drugs and alcohol Credit: ITV Press Handout By the time she was in her teens she was looking for escapism, she fell in with an older crowd and started dabbling with drugs. By the time she was 17 she’d experimented with cannabis, speed and ecstasy. She remembers: “It all just seemed like a laugh – I was having fun and it was a way to forget how out of place I often felt. I’ve since been diagnosed with ADHD and realise I was self-medicating.” However when she was 17 she met a man who was 24 and they started a relationship. He introduced her to heroin. Christopher popped the question to Michelle in Benidorm on her first foreign holiday Credit: Supplied Charlotte helping mum Michelle get ready on her wedding day Credit: Supplied A year later she fell pregnant with her daughter, Charlotte, now 28, and though she stopped taking heroin, she admits she occasionally had cannabis. And her abstinence was short lived, once she’d given birth she started using heroin again. She says: “To start with I was able to cope, my daughter was always fed and clean. And I managed to hide my habit, even my best friend didn’t realise. “I loved my daughter but my addiction came first – I’d tell her ‘mummy needs her medicine’ and send her to her room. I can hardly bear to think of that now.” But as the years went by Michelle fell further into addiction – she needed more and more money to feed her habit and turned to crime. When Charlotte was 11 she was taken into care after Michelle was found guilty of theft and spent eight months in prison. Michelle says: “I was devastated but even so I couldn’t get clean to fight to get her back. I visited her and we always stayed in touch. “But I wasn’t a mother to her, I was an addict and could barely look after myself.” This year, the mum celebrates eight years sober from alcohol and drugs Credit: The Sun When Michelle pregnant with Charlotte, she stopped taking heroin but admits she occasionally had cannabis Credit: Supplied Michelle carried on her life of crime and even turned to prostitution to feed her habit. She had a string of toxic relationships and was the victim of domestic violence and sexual assaults. She counts herself lucky that her daughter, now grown up didn’t give up on her. She says: “I was a mess and suicidal. Though I never injected, I was smoking drugs every hour of the day. “Sometimes I didn’t sleep for days at a time. By the time I agreed to go on Jeremy Kyle I was at rock bottom. I had a flat, but the electricity had been cut off, and all my windows were broken. It was the lifeline I desperately needed.” After the programme, Michelle was taken to a residential rehab unit in Luton, where she was gradually weaned off all substances, it was two weeks before she was clean. She had group and one on one therapy. GETTING HELP: If you think that you have a drug addiction then please contact your GP. You can also visit FRANK for honest information about drugs and to find local treatment services. If you are having trouble finding the right help, call the FRANK drugs helpline on 03001236600 Or click here to visit the NHS website for more advice and support In February 2019 she moved to a dry house – a supervised home which is strictly drug and alcohol free for recovering addicts – and she has managed to stay clean. In March she met Christopher through a 12 step recovery programme. She admits: “You’re advised not to start a new relationship in your first year of recovery, but we just clicked. “He was a few months ahead of me in his recovery journey and I felt so comfortable with him and secure. “He’s the kindest, most amazing man imaginable. He couldn’t be more different to all the toxic boyfriends I had before.” After appearing on Jeremy Kyle, Michelle was gradually weaned off all substances at a residential rehab unit in Luton Credit: The Sun Michelle counts herself lucky that her daughter didn’t give up on her Credit: Supplied Later that year he took her to Benidorm on her first foreign holiday. It was there that he proposed. She says: “We were on the beach one evening, and I heard him rustling in his bag, I turned round and he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was so romantic, I couldn’t believe it.” Due to covid it was 2022 before they could get married, but Michelle says it was worth the wait. She says: “By then I’d made amends to all of my family – my daughter and I are now really close and I speak to my mum constantly.” Michelle’s life since then hasn’t been easy. She was working with a homeless charity but sadly had to give up after suffering a stroke three years ago. She’s also suffered three miscarriages and two ectopic pregnancy. But despite these difficulties she’s grateful to be alive and have the love and support of her husband and family. She says: “For 22 years I took heroin and crack cocaine, I abused my body in the worst ways possible. I’m lucky to be alive, let alone in love and happy. “I’m so close to my daughter, I visit her and my six grandchildren regularly – she helped me when I needed it most. “I want other people to know that there is a way out of addiction, if I can do it, then anyone can.”