Paving a New Road in Recovery
Paving a New Road in Recovery
If you ever watch the reality shows “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette,” you see beautiful men and women living in a mansion looking for love. Once the cameras stop rolling and the last rose has been given out, you imagine these reality stars will ride the wave of media fame and success and live happily ever after.
However, for Meredith Phillips, former model and star of the second season of “The Bachelorette,” life has not been easy. Battling alcoholism, coming to terms with her disease and other personal tragedy has changed the course of her life, but she is thankful to be alive to journey through it.
Life After “The Bachelorette”
Phillips life seemed to be a charmed one. She came in third as a contestant in the fourth season of “The Bachelor” and was picked to star in “The Bachelorette,” so life seemed to be going well. She felt she found love with Ian McKee, whom she picked as the winner of the show and her heart. However, she didn’t realize that her life was unraveling.
Phillips was an alcoholic but didn’t realize it. She was proud of the large amounts of alcohol she drank but soon her drinking consumed her life. She reported drinking up to 20 bottles of wine a week, blacked out several times and woke up to bruises and cuts. Just as many alcoholics do, she hid her drinking but her addiction was impossible to ignore. Her problems mounted as she broke her engagement with McKee and dealt with the death of both her parents in a short period of time. Phillips finally sought help in alcohol rehab.
Starting New After Alcohol Rehab
Phillips is now married to her high school sweetheart, has been sober for more than 6 months and is looking forward to new career endeavors. She admits that sobriety is a struggle because she misses the social aspect of drinking. However, she is learning to get through her days without alcohol and building a new life for herself.
