Ellie Goulding: ‘I drank before interviews to be more interesting’
Written by News on 03/12/2019
Ellie Goulding has admitted she used to drink alcohol before interviews and performances so that she would seem “more funny or interesting”, and that she has had therapy for anger issues.
The singer, who had her first hit with Starry Eyed in 2010, turned to drink as she got used to life in the spotlight.
Speaking to Fearne Cotton on the presenter’s Happy Place podcast, the 32-year-old said she had to be “a fake person to deal with the surreal situation I was in”.
She said she would prepare for interviews by drinking – even before appearing on the BBC’s Live Lounge, which is usually recorded in the morning.
“Usually for me it involved alcohol,” Goulding said. “I assumed I couldn’t be good enough, smart, funny, or crazy enough to be with certain people without it.
“Live Lounges used to be most nerve-wracking, I even drank before those, I swear to God.
“I would say, ‘Right, I’ve got to drink this morning because I’ve got this interview and I don’t really know how to answer the questions, because I don’t really know who I am anymore.’
“I thought drinking would at least make me a bit more funny, or interesting.”
Goulding, who performed at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding reception in 2011, rose to fame with hits including Love Me Like You Do, Burn and How Long Will I Love You.
She told Cotton she never had an alcohol problem.
“I wasn’t an alcoholic,” she said. “I could go months without a drink, too.”
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The singer also said she had been in therapy to deal with anger issues but said her relationship with husband Caspar Jopling, who she married in August, has helped.
“When I met Caspar, this anger thing just went away,” she said. “At first it didn’t. I did that thing we all do when we first meet someone you really like and you… don’t possibly show any of your bad traits.
She added: “With Caspar I instantly felt calmer.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Ellie Goulding: ‘I drank before interviews to be more interesting’
